


The New Team Rocket

by DChan87



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Ash joins Team Rocket, F/M, Gen, Good Team Rocket, Misty joins Team Rocket, ash and misty join team rocket, team rocket turns good
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-27
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-02-19 01:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2368613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DChan87/pseuds/DChan87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jessie, James and Meowth come to Ash and Misty with an offer to join their new, just-turned-good Team Rocket. If they accept, they'll have to believe in this new Team Rocket and build something new and whether or not they deserve a second chance. But old ghosts may haunt the new organization.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Offer

The New Team Rocket, chapter 1: The Offer

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

It began when Jessie and James got fed up with being insulted by their Boss one too many times.

There's only so much abuse and so much losing that one person, let along three, can take. Losing to Ash Ketchum and his friends, plus getting constant threats from Giovanni took such a toll on the two that even after their Unova adventures, they could not return empty-handed to him. Time and time again, he put them down even for successes.

When they found out he didn't care about the organization, just his own interests, it was the last straw.

As if it was hiding, their consciences and confidence emerged. Gathering a group of Team Rocket members, they beseeched them to rise up and take over the group, throw Giovanni and the criminals out, and turn the organization into a force for righteousness.

The uprising succeeded. So imagine the big surprise when Jessie, James and Meowth showed up at a local police station with a tied-up Giovanni offering to turn him in in exchange for their freedom and to keep the organization going. The police were a little skeptical, but realizing they had Giovanni literally delivered to their doorstep, agreed, but on the condition that they also let the police do their job.

Thus, the new Team Rocket was born.

But the trio felt something was missing. Sure, they'd put away a criminal and given themselves a clean conscience, but it was more personnel related.

The Twerps had been a thorn in their sides for years. But, they secretly wanted Ash and his crew to join their team, kinda like a smart villain would. Now that Team Rocket had turned a proverbial new leaf, maybe they could offer them a chance.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Ash had been taking care of his mother's house when she left on a two-week vacation to Kalos. The now 17-year-old had the place to himself, for the most part, since Mimey and Pikachu were there with him—and the Cerulean City Gym leader Misty, who agreed to help out.

Ash spent much of the afternoon lounging out on the couch in front of the TV with Pikachu curled up on his stomach. Misty sat at the kitchen table drinking some tea and reading mail that she'd gotten at the Cerulean City gym. The silence between them was not awkward, just relaxed and… kinda bored. Ash hated to admit it, but there wasn't much to do in a rural small town like Pallet. Maybe Cerulean could be a better place to visit… provided Misty let him, of course.

But there was nothing to do! They'd already had a little Pokemon battle a couple of hours ago, but none of their Pokemon wanted to fight now. Prof. Oak was also out at a conference, which meant the two were stuck with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

"I'm boooorrrrrrreeeed!" Ash groaned and shifted, causing Pikachu to fall onto the floor.

"You said that," Misty groaned in return, "Ten times already."

"I can't say it again?"

"NO."

"Ah, you're no fun!"

"Who said a gym leader had to—what the heck is going on?"

A low rumbling had started that felt like the ground was shaking. As the rumble got louder, the shaking got worse. "Do you know what's going on?" Ash asked.

"I already asked that!" Misty replied. "Outside!" Ash jumped off the couch as he and Misty ran outside.

Once outside, they saw what was causing the disturbance. A helicopter-sized transport, which should not be causing an earthquake, was approaching Ash's house. Those engines however, were pretty loud. That must be what was going on.

The helicopter-sized transport stopped and hovered over the ground. The wind caused by the engines was starting to kick up the plants in Delia's garden. Mimey ran out of the house, frantically trying to protect them from the wind with a few Light Screens and barriers. The poor mime eventually had enough and encased himself in his own Light Screens!

"HEY!" Ash screamed over the sound of the engines, "WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"

He knew it wasn't because of him, but the transport landed in front of the house and the engines eventually turned off. "Um, okay…" Misty said.

The top of the transport opened, and a fog of dry ice erupted. "Prepare for trouble!" A familiar female voice declared.

"And make it double!"

Ash and Misty watched first dumbfounded, then shocked and alert when the two figures emerged from the transport. "TO protect the world from devastation!"

"To united all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and—oops, hate and lies!"

"To extend our reach to beyond the skies!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, but we don't want to fight!"

"Meee-YOWTH! Dat's right!"

Ash and Misty were dumbfounded again. Okay, Team Rocket had just landed in front of Ash's mom's house. And they had a new motto… really? Either way, old defense mechanisms weren't going away any time soon. "What do you want, Team Rocket?" Ash threatened.

"Go away!" Misty concurred.

"What part of 'we don't want to fight' don't you idiot Twerps understand!?" Jessie screamed. But she calmed down and straightened herself out. "We just want to talk."

"Talk?" Misty asked.

Jessie and James jumped down from the transport in front of Ash and Misty. "We're here to make a proposition," she said, "An offer you CAN'T refuse!"

" _WHAT!?_ " Ash and Misty screamed.

"Um, Jessie, one moment please," James muttered, "You know how gangsters like to make 'offers they can't refuse'?"

"Oh! HAHAHA!" Jessie laughed, "Silly me! Right, well, I guess I'll have to reword it. We here at the New Team Rocket are here to make an offer so GREAT and so SPECTACULAR that you WON'T WANT to refuse!"

"And what is that?" asked Misty.

Jessie, James and Meowth posed like they usually do and pointed dramatically at Ash and Misty saying in unison, " _We want you… to join the NEW TEAM ROCKET!_ "

" _FORGET IT!_ " Ash and Misty replied, also in unison.

"Why would we want to join you?" Misty snarled. Pikachu growled at them, his cheeks sparking with electricity.

"Oh well, no one said it would be easy," Jessie said with a shrug.

"I guess we should tell them, then," said James.

"Right! Here's da deal!" said Meowth, "Haven't you Twoips been watchin' da news?"

"Yeah, I have," said Misty, "Why?"

"Heard anything about our old Boss, Giovanni?"

Ash and Misty hummed as if to think. Then they both came to a realization. "That's right! He was arrested, wasn't he?"

"And we're the ones who turned him in!" Jessie replied, "Who knew growing a conscience and turning into goody-two-shoes could be so rewarding?"

"So we're the new Team Rocket Bosses!"

"You two?" asked Ash.

"Yep! And we've toined ovah a new leaf!" said Meowth.

"So why do you want us to join?" asked Misty.

"Well, you know that movie where the bad guy wants his enemy to join so he won't be an enemy anymore?" asked James, "That's kind of like us, we've been wanting you to join for a while."

"But since you're both goody-two-shoes, that was about as likely as a Mamoswine flying," said Jessie, "But now, things have changed!"

"Is there another reason?" asked Misty.

"Yes, well, there is," said Jessie, "You see, it seems we've been so good at being bad…"

"… That we're bad at being good!" James finished. "In other words,"

" _WE NEED YOUR HEEELLLP!_ " all three begged and pleaded.

"You want our…"

"Help?" Misty started and Ash finished. To say the least, they were still skeptical. They couldn't know for certain that Team Rocket had indeed turned over a new leaf.

"I don't know," said Misty, "You've attacked us so many times…"

"… It's kind of hard to accept," said Ash.

"Pi, ka, chuuu," said Pikachu.

"Don't worry about it!" Another voice declared, "They're fully rehabilitated!" The side door of the transport opened and out stepped a woman dressed in a police uniform. "I'm police liaison Officer Jenny!" she said, "As part of their pardon deal, I'm to monitor them and make sure they stay on the right path!"

"So why do you need us?" asked Ash.

"So you can give us advice!" said Jessie.

"Are you going to change your look?" asked Misty.

"The Red 'R' is a classic fashion statement!" Jessie huffed, "No chance are we changing it!"

"But please, oh PLEASE join our New Team Rocket!" James begged on his knees, Jessie and Meowth following, "We've put you through so much trouble, this is our chance to make it up to you!"

"We're sorry for making your lives miserable, just PLEASE help us out here!" Jessie wailed.

"I swear on all my nine lives we're not bad!" Meowth cried. "We wanna be GOOOOD!"

" _JOIN US!_ " All three begged.

Misty looked at Ash and Ash looked at Misty. They had a silent conversation on the matter, spoken only through their eyes and facial expressions. It was clear looking at his face that Ash kind of wanted to join. After all, they came up to them and literally begged them. And given their history, they knew that, if given the right situation, Jessie and James would most certainly do the right thing. But Misty was still not so sure. Was this a trick? Was this just a ploy to get them out of the way?

Both turned their backs on Team Rocket to discuss the matter. "Ash, are you sure this is a good idea?" Misty asked.

"I don't know," he replied, "But they seem like they mean it."

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said. They turned back towards Team Rocket.

"Alright," he said, "We accept."

The Rocket Trio's faces beamed and they launched themselves at Ash and Misty, enveloping them in big, tight hugs. "I can't believe it, Jessie!" James cried, "The Twerps have finally joined us!"

"We're so proud of you!" Jessie cried as well.

"Dey're one of us now!" Meowth cried.

"We swear we'll do our best to be goody-two-shoes!" James cried. "We'll be the best Rocket Bosses ever!"

"Okay, but could you PLEASE let us breathe!?" Misty coughed.

The Rocket Trio let go. "Right, sorry," said James. "So, when can you start?"

"When do you need us?" asked Ash.

"As soon as possible!" said Jessie.

Misty looked at Ash and already had an idea of what he wanted to do. "Aw heck, we've got nothing planned, anyway!" she said, "But only AFTER Delia gets back!"

"Right, and then we'll come and pick you up!" said Jessie.

"And I'll be right there with them!" Officer Jessie reassured, "If they start causing trouble, don't hesitate to let me know, okay?"

"Um, okay," said Misty. "I hope you know what you're doing, Ash.

"I think I am," he replied.


	2. Boot Camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessie, James and Meowth come to Ash and Misty with an offer to join their new, just-turned-good Team Rocket. If they accept, they'll have to believe in this new Team Rocket and build something new and whether or not they deserve a second chance. But old ghosts may haunt the new organization.

The New Team Rocket, chapter 2: Boot camp

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Jeez, this is way too tight!" Ash complained, tugging on his uniform. He wore a dark red Team Rocket uniform, symbolic of his status as a Team Rocket trainee. He didn't tell his mom that he had joined, instead telling her that he was going away for about a couple months or something like that just to get away. Technically, that was true. But then again, basic training wasn't exactly a vacation.

He looked to his left and to his right without moving his head. They were in a line of new recruits, most of whom would be weeded out and sent home by the time they were done. Team Rocket might be good, but that didn't mean they were easy to join.

Misty stood beside him, her hair in her old side ponytail after she got it cut to Team Rocket regulations. If they were lucky, she could eventually let grow out again. But of course, they had to pass the training first.

"Teeennnn… HUT!" The recruits stood at attention. Jessie, wearing her new Rocket Boss jacket, walked up to them and began inspections. "Dirty… tacky… UGH! Don't tuck it in! Stand up straight! Look straight! Much better. YOU THERE! What's your name?"

"Bill, Ma'am!" The nervous recruit replied.

"Bill, did you know you're not wearing a regulation uniform!?" Jessie barked.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" He replied.

"I like your honesty," she said, "You have just barely avoided punishments for the whole group!"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

"But don't think I'm going easy on you!" she said, "Latrine duty, maggot! One week! Is that clear!?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!"

"TAUROSSHIT, I can't hear you!"

"MA'AM, YES MA'AM!" Bill screamed.

"MUCH better!" she said. She continued down the line, inspecting the recruits. Most of them she was disgusted at. On the other hand, Ash and Misty only got chiding. That's probably because they actually made an effort, unlike some of the other recruits. Didn't mean their drill sergeants went easy on them. "And by the way, I'm BOSS JESSIE, not ma'am! Do you idiots understand that!?"

" _Yes, Boss Jessie!_ " The recruits shouted back.

"TAUROSSHIT, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

" _YES, BOSS JESSIE!_ "

"LOUDER!"

" _ **YES, BOSS JESSIE!**_ "

"MUCH better!" she said. She started walking up and down the line of recruits. "Now then, I don't know what your regular Drill Instructor does, but he's not here right now! You have had two weeks to get used to Rocket training, and I expect better of you! But in my eyes, you're all scum! You're not even human-fucking-beings! You are nothing but unorganized grabastic pieces of amphibian shit! Because I am hard, you will not like me. But the more you hate me, the more you will learn. I am hard but I am fair! And my orders are to weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in my beloved Team. Do you maggots understand that?"

" _YES, BOSS JESSIE!_ "

"LOUDER!"

"YES, BOSS JESSIE!"

"Much better! I like this group much better than that other one! I've got good feelings for all of you!"

A recruit coughed. Misty looked right to her left at a frightened Ash. Jessie had heard the cough and walked straight up to Ash, getting within inches of his face. "DID YOU BREAK SILENCE, RECRUIT!"

"YES, BOSS JESSIE!" he replied.

"AM I BORING YOU, RECRUIT!?" she screamed.

"NO, BOSS JESSIE!"

"IF YOU THINK YOU CAN WALK RIGHT THROUGH THIS BASIC TRAINING, YOU'RE WRONG, RECRUIT!" she screamed again, "JUST BECAUSE I PERSONALLY ASKED YOU TO JOIN DOESN'T MEAN I'LL GO EASY ON YOU! In fact, in the interest of fairness, I THINK I'LL BE HARDER ON YOU THAN THE OTHERS! DOES THAT WORK FOR YOU!?"

"YES, BOSS JESSIE!"

"That's what I wanted to hear! Down on your hands, recruit!" Ash immediately dropped onto his hands. "Fifty push-ups! NOW!"

"YES, BOSS JESSIE!" He got right to it. Misty looked up from Jessie and back straight forward.

"What are you looking at, recruit?" Jessie asked.

"THOSE TREES IN THE DISTANCE, BOSS JESSIE!" Misty replied, noting the trees that were directly in front of them.

"You're lucky that's what I want you to be looking at, otherwise I'd PUNISH THE WHOLE GROUP for that sarcasm!" Jessie replied. "Do you understand?"

"YES, BOSS JESSIE!"

"Listen up, all of you!" Jessie said to the entire group, "You have six weeks to make me, and your regular Drill Instructor happy! We will not tolerate snide comments! Team Rocket may be good, but we don't have to be nice! Is that clear!?"

" _YES, BOSS JESSIE!_ " they screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Now then, I'm going to dismiss you—not you, recruit doing the push-ups—and report to your next training assignment! DISMISSED!" The recruits left the training field.

All of them, except one.

"What do you want, recruit?"

"Boss Jessie, may I request that I do the push-ups, too?" Misty asked.

Jessie raised her eyebrow. Ash was still working on the push-ups (he was probably up to 30 and struggling). But, if she wanted to do it, who cares? "Permission granted," said Jessie.

"Yes, Boss Jessie!" Misty got down on her hands and started doing the push-ups as well.

"I'll be off now," said Jessie, "I've got work to do." She departed, leaving Ash and Misty to finish their push-ups.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Jeez, my arm still hurts!" Ash groaned, sitting on a bench at the Rocket base while Misty sat next to him. "By the way, why did you do the push-ups with me?"

"Because I didn't want to see you do it alone," she replied. Ash sighed and hung his head. Six more weeks of this and he was already wondering if it was such a good idea.

Because recruits were not allowed to mingle with most members, they had their own section of the base to themselves. Most of these recruits were about as green as ham and eggs. In all likelihood, only 10% were going to become full-fledged members. The rest will be sent home.

They also had to use Pokemon different from the ones they used outside of Team Rocket, because that too, was not allowed. Instead, they were assigned "standard-issue" Pokemon, like Poochyena, Ratatta or Zubat. It was humiliating and degrading, but it made getting to the end, where they can use their usual Pokemon.

"Pika, Pika," Pikachu said, leaning against the wall. Pikachu was a semi-exception. Ash could still not use him in battle, but even Jessie and James knew how inseparable they were. To separate them would cause a massive myriad of problems.

A couple of recruits walking by pointed and laughed at them. Misty sighed, thinking it was better to be laughed at by other recruits instead of drawing jealousy because of the way they were recruited. But then again, if the point of basic training is to hate your drill instructor, then why are some recruits laughing at others? It didn't make sense, but Misty felt there must be a method to this madness, even if no one—not even Jessie—could see said method.

Still, it was making it easy to reconsider.

"Do you think this was a good idea?" she asked.

"Why are you asking that?" he replied.

"I might as well get it out now!" she said, "I'm not going to wait until we're about to graduate from basic!"

"Okay, okay!" Ash replied. "But… why are you asking this? You didn't ask after the tear gas chamber."

"Do you really believe that Team Rocket's changed?" she asked. "Do they really deserve another chance?"

"Think about it, Misty," he said, "We get to build something new."

"That's rich, coming from an idiot like you."

"HEY."

"Alright, listen up recruits!" A man wearing a Special Forces—not Team Rocket, mind you—uniform announced, "Training Squad 1 will be doing mock double battles, Squad 2 will be doing self-defense and Squad 3 will be doing physical training! All of you have twenty minutes to get ready! Now get moving!"

The shuffling of chairs moving would've prevented Misty from being heard, anyway. She shrugged and followed Ash back to the Pokemon battle field.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Jessie, do you think maybe you're being a little too hard on the recruits?" James asked sheepishly.

"OF COURSE NOT!" she replied, "Our drill instructors were much harder on us, then I am on them!"

"I'm not sure if that's true," James muttered.

"It always works in movies, James," she continued, "If they hate me more than they hate each other, then they can get things done!"

"Dat's what I was afraid of," Meowth said, sliding against Jessie's desk.

"I think you're forgetting something about our drill instructors," said James, "They were violent criminals just like the other half of Team Rocket we kicked out."

"And dee ahmy gave us all dose Special Forces guys ta make up da numbahs," sad Meowth.

"Who cares?" asked Jessie, "I don't want these new recruits to think we're going easy on them just because we're goody-two-shoes!"

"That's what I was afraid of," said James. "At least the army gave us real drill instructors."

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M BAD AT MY JOB!?" Jessie screamed, pounding on her desk.

"NO, OF COURSE NOT!" James replied. "I mean…"

"Dose army guys are better dan our old ones!" said Meowth.

"ARE YOU SAYING OUR DRILL INSTRUCTORS WERE BAD!?"

"I think I have some recruits to train!" James squeaked.

"Oh, that's right," said Jessie, "You're training the Twerps in double battles. Whatever you do, don't go easy on them or play favorites, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!—I mean, Boss Jessie!"

Jessie sighed, rubbing her forehead and muttered something about how running the organization was much harder than she expected.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Alright recruits, listen up!" James shouted to the 12-person Squad 1, "Because some of you might be assigned to two-person teams once you graduate basic, you _will_ be doing double battles! The idea behind this training exercise is simple: To gain the skills and teamwork necessary to win these battles! I understand you have already done this, so I expect you to have a good understand of these and the partner you have been assigned! Do you understand?"

" _YES, SIR!_ "

"Now then, let's get to work!" said James, "I have put your names into this hat to ensure fairness! When I call your name, you will be partnered with the next person chosen! Is that clear?"

" _YES, SIR!_ "

A Special Forces agent walked over to James and handed him a hat. He shuffled it up and pulled a name out. "First person up—Ash Ketchum!"

"Shit," Ash breathed under his voice.

"Second up—Misty Waterflower!" The surprise on James's voice was clear and evident. But, it was randomly chosen He couldn't really do much about it. Ash, then Misty stepped forward and stood at attention while James pulled more names out of the hat.

When their opponents were chosen, the two went to their side of the field. The Special Forces agent waited, holding his arm up and when James gave him the signal, blew his whistle and dropped his arm.

"GO, POOCHYENA!" Ash cried.

"SPEAROW, GO!" Misty cried out.

"ZUBAT!"

"RATATTA!"

All four Pokemon emerged from their PokeBalls. "Poochyena, Tackle!"

"Spearow, Peck!"

Poochyena and Spearow charged their opponents. Poocheyna jumped in the air, but missed the Zubat. Spearow dove for Ratatta, but the rat Pokemon ducked and it missed. The rat Pokemon counterattacked and tried to bite Poochyena. Poochyena headbutted the Ratatta out of instinct, but the Zubat tackled the distracted Poochyena. Ratatta then jumped up and bit Spearow and pulled it back down to the ground, where it landed with a "THUD".

Needless to say, Ash and Misty were surprised. "Oh man, when was the last time we battled together?" he asked.

"Too long," she said.

Spearow and Poochyena got back up. But Zubat and Ratatta's assault continued. Spearow and Poochyena were helpless, and there was only one thing Ash and Misty could do. "Poochyena, return!" Ash called.

"You too, Spearow!" Misty called. "Okay Ash, what other Pokemon do you have?"

"A Geodude," said Ash, "You?"

"A Machop," she said. Suddenly, Misty had an idea. "Hey! I know what we can do!"

"What?" he asked.

"Just watch. MACHOP, GO!" Misty summon her Machop.

"GO, GEODUDE!" Ash summoned his Geodude.

"Ash, tell Geodude to use Defense Curl," she said.

"Don't tell me what to do!" he snapped.

"Just do it!"

Ash sighed in annoyance. "Geodude, Defensive Curl!" Geodude voiced his confirmation and curled up into a ball.

"Alright Machop, use Seismic Toss on Geodude!

"WHAT!?" Ash cried, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

"… And aim at Zubat!"

"Machop!" Machop ran over to Geodude and picked up Geodude. The little Fighting-type hurled Geodude at Zubat. The Zubat tried to run, but Geodude slammed into the blue bat, then fell to the ground and crashed into the Ratatta. The Zubat plummeted to the ground and landed next to Ratatta while Geodude celebrated in front of two very bewildered and confused Rocket trainees. They looked at James, who looked at the army's Special Forces agent.

"Ratatta and Zubat are unable to battle!" he called. Ash and Misty cheered and high-fived. The Special Forces agent looked at James, who despite being unhappy with those two being chosen, had a knowing smile on his face. "Do I have to ask?"

"Well, I was on the wrong end of their teamwork," said James, "So…"

"I get it," said the Special Forces agent. "I think those kids are gonna be good."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

After a couple more weeks, the question about whether joining Team Rocket was a good idea or not fell by the wayside, replaced with a different question. "How are we going to survive this whole camp?" Misty asked after collapsing against a tree after a particularly harsh Physical Training session. Her legs felt like they'd been dipped in liquid hot magma and her lungs were about to burst.

Next to her, Ash and Pikachu flopped on the ground, both of their chests heaving from exhaustion. That's what happens when asked to run a longer distance in a shorter amount of time than they'd had to for the past several weeks. That and this particular drill instructor was being hard-ass and bastard. Figures, he was Special Forces.

"COME ON, you ingrates, I've had run twice as long in as fast as I can, and I did it faster than you!" he said, "You're making me cry! Schedule says you're to do indoor obstacle course in one hour." The Special Forces agent walked away, leaving the exhausted recruits.

"Is it too late to ask if you've changed your mind?" she asked.

"About what?"

"Leaving," she said.

"And quit!?" he replied, "With three weeks left!?" he sat up and looked her straight in the eye. "We've come this far, Misty, I'm not about to give up!"

"I'm not saying we quit!" she said.

"Yes, you are!" he replied, "And I'm not about to give up this late!"

"Ugh! You're always so stubborn, Ash!"

"That's not a bad thing!" he replied.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu tried to calm them down. The poor little rodent was simply unable to separate Ash and Misty. The Special Forces agent on the other hand, was.

"Enough, you two!" He said, "You idiots want latrine duty, together?" The two looked at each other and huffed angrily. The Special Forces drill instructor let them go. "Indoor obstacle course is in one hour."

"How are we going to beat that?" he asked.

"I've talked to someone who's already done it," she said. "We'll need to come up with a strategy."

"Do we have to?"

"Of course we do!" she growled while grabbing his ear.

" _Okay!_ What do you have in mind?"

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"You mean the Twerps want to LEAVE!?"

"That's what she said, James," the Special Forces guy replied.

"But they can't leave! We need them in or New Team Rocket!"

"What am I supposed to do!?" The Special Forces man replied, "I can't pick favorites, those were your orders!"

"Yes, I know that!" James replied.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Convince them to stay!" James wailed, grabbing the very nervous man's shoulders, "Encourage them, threaten them, just PLEASE keep them in training!"

"Well, the indoor obstacle course builds teamwork," said the Special Forces guy, "They'll be too busy thinking about working together that leaving is an afterthought."

"That's okay, just don't play favorites!" James begged.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

The indoor obstacle course was built inside a warehouse, connected to an old aircraft hangar. It was designed with teamwork, speed and strategy in mind. Unlike the outdoor obstacle course, you can't just attack the indoor one and expect to get through on your own. This is where working with a partner comes into play.

The obstacle course comprises of three sections: The beginning is the easiest part, as it uses the warehouse's spacious interior to its advantage. Recruits have to dodge nerf darts and traps while making sure their partner is safe. The second section is more claustrophobic and tight. It involves trust in their partner and Pokemon. The third and final section of the course is the most deceptive part. The recruits have to solve a few puzzles that also require teamwork. While there might be concerns about whether or not it's easy, this really tests the recruit's patience.

"… And furthermore, in order to beat this obstacle course, you NEED to put any and all distractions to the side," the Special Forces drill instructor said, "That means you need to focus! You will be scored on a number of things, including time, teamwork, etc., etc. DO NOT think you can just get one or the other. In fact, you can still get the slowest time, but get points for creativity! Is that clear?"

" _YES, DRILL SERGEANT!_ "

"Also, this is the first training exercise you get to use Pokemon that you have chosen, excluding your assigned partner!" the drill sergeant concluded.

Ash and Misty glanced at each other. They already knew which Pokemon they intended to use.

"Alright, line up here at the starting line! DO NOT begin until I blow my whistle! If you do, you will be penalized!" The recruits lined up at the starting line. The drill sergeant brought his whistle to his lips. He waited for a couple of seconds to make sure no one had flinched.

_TWEEEEEEEEET!_

The recruits dashed off the starting line right into the obstacle course. Ash and Misty stayed in the middle, hoping to use their strategy smartly. Nerf darts started flying all around. A few darts his some of the stragglers and recruits who were woefully unprepared.

They came over to the first barrier. Ash, who'd gotten taller than Misty since their first adventure, jumped up the wall. Once he'd gotten to the top, he grabbed her hand, pulled her up and over the barrier. First down.

Another dart gun fired. "Pikachu!" Ash said.

"Pi-KAAA!" Pikachu charged up his cheeks, "CHUUUU!" And electrocuted the dart gun. For a moment, the gun was out of commission. That allowed the trio to make it past the gun.

The first section of the course was like the outdoor obstacle course, which made it slightly easy, but still difficult. Ash, Misty and Pikachu successfully navigated the course, but only managed to stay in the middle of the group. Now they came up to the second section.

Pretty quickly, the sheer, utter darkness of the second section took over. But that was soon replaced by a dim light that showed five paths to take. None of the recruits knew which one to take.

Ash and Misty on the other hand, took the path second-from-right. Other recruits followed them, but by now the trio was well into this new path.

The path was dark, and the only thing lighting it was Ash's flashlight. It was too dark to run, so they simply walked while feeling to walls and looking for traps. Ash's flashlight caught sight of an obstacle. They could not see it, but they made it through easily.

The next obstacles, however, were incredibly difficult. They were supposed to trust each other, but "supposed to" doesn't always imply that they will. Instead, tensions rose. "I know this is old, but YOU GOT US LOST!" she screamed.

"HEY!" He snapped.

"Hey, 'what'!?" she replied, "We're lost, it's obvious!"

"You're the one who wanted to take this route!" he snapped.

"And I regret it!" she replied.

"Pika, Piiika!" Pikachu pleaded with both to stop. But they were too busy fighting and it got much nastier than their 10-year-old fights ever were.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!?" he screamed after she said something particularly bad about Jessie and James.

"I DON'T TRUST THEM!" she admitted, "THIS WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA!"

"You've only made it OBVIOUS for the past several hours!" he replied. "And I'm tired of this fight!"

"I don't even remember why I agreed to follow along with this!" she admitted, "Did you even think about this!?"

"Of course I did! Or maybe you were too busy thinking it was a bad idea instead of having an open mind!"

"Bit rich, coming from a dense idiot like you."

"What did you just call me?"

"You heard me!"

"Pikapi, Pickahupi! PIIIII!" Pikachu's own frustration boiled over and he zapped the both of them. Then he went into a long rant in his own language aimed at the two of them. Ash listened intently to his oldest companion and sighed.

"Sorry, Pikachu," he said, "It's just that _someone_ —"

"Pikachupi," the electric rodent scolded.

Ash sighed. "Sorry, Pikachu," he said. "Wait, you really—oh."

"What?" she asked.

"He doesn't care if we're disagreeing," he said, "Because we still have to get out of here."

"He is right," she said, "But—"

"PI!"

"Aaaand, he wants us to shut up and get along," he said.

"Of course," she muttered. "But how are we going to get out of here?"

"Pi Pikachu," he said.

"He says not to worry."

"He's got a plan?"

"Pi!"

Ash shrugged. "I guess we could follow him."

Pikachu ran off with Ash and Misty following suit. He led them through the obstacles, making them work together through each of them. He found other routes that could get them out quicker, and eventually they found their way out.

It was like a wonderful revelation. Ash and Misty were so relieved that the final third of the obstacle course felt like a blur. They clicked on all cylinders, solving the puzzles with ease, thanks in part to their teamwork and Pikachu's help. It wasn't long before they made it out, reaching the finish line with the Special Forces agent waiting with a clipboard.

At first, he didn't look very impressed. "You finished in the bottom third," he said, "That little spat back there took about 15 minutes off your time." The pair sighed in disappointment. "But, since you did ace the puzzles and you managed to get back on track after your Pokemon game you a much-needed tongue-lashing, you scored in the top third."

"YEAH!" Ash cheered, jumping in the air like he just won a Pokemon battle.

"Now this score puts you on track to graduate," said the Special Forces officer, "But you still have to pass the final exams in order to graduate."

"Hey, don't worry!" said Ash, "We can handle it!" He looked over at Misty and gave her a reassuring smile. Misty couldn't help but smile back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End chapter
> 
> So how was that? I hope everyone liked that!
> 
> Okay first off: Pacing. Yes, I know it's a little wonky. Yes, I know it's probably not the best. But I'm trying to get a 3,000 word-per-chapter word count, and it made things a little difficult. Plus, I have a point-by-point outline, but the rest of it is a little difficult.


	3. Victory Mission, part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Misty begin the final exam, Victory Mission, but things don't go as well as they hoped.

The New Team Rocket, chapter 3: Victory Mission, part 1

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

The military influence on the new Team Rocket varies, but it is most prominent during basic training. The 9-week boot camp is an in-depth training regimen made up of three phases that focus on a different aspect of being part of Team Rocket. The reason for this military influence is because the government, rightfully skeptical of this Team Rocket re-branding, inserted police and army figures into the organization to keep an eye on them and to take care of any problems should they find out they were double-crossed. But they also helped develop the organization's basic training.

The first phase is a "Total Control" phase, where the drill sergeants assert themselves over every facet of the recruits' lives. Every single infraction whether minor or not, is punished in order to instill discipline, attention to detail and community into the recruits. The recruits also go through training exercises and Physical Training to get them in shape.

In the second phase, teamwork and tools use are implemented. The trainees learn how to do double battles (assuming they have not yet, but even still) in order to instill teamwork. Trainees cannot use their regular Pokémon, assuming they already have them, and are given "Standard-issue" Pokémon for the purposes of training. Even recruits who do not have Pokémon are given these standard-issue Pokémon. The obstacle course is also introduced in this phase.

The third and final phase is the culmination of all 9 weeks. There is a PT final, where if the recruits do not score over a certain number of points, they cannot join their fellow recruits in the final field test. The recruits are also put through other tests in the final two weeks before the so-called "Victory Mission", a 3-day field training exercise that serves like a cumulative final exam.

Ash and Misty were now in the third and final phase of basic training.

They were in the middle of a two-mile run, the third and final part of Team Rocket's PT exam. "My legs are burning," Ash groaned.

"Too bad," Misty panted. "I can't help you. I'll get in trouble."

"Pika, Pika, Pika," Pikachu panted.

"Come on Ash, you've ran farther," said Misty, "This is nothing!"

"Are we there yet?" he asked.

"I can't answer that!" she replied.

It was hot, but that wasn't the problem. It was the humidity and general exhaustion from these past two-and-a-half months that was the problem. But were they about to quit?

Surprisingly, no! "Come on, Mist," Ash said, "You're getting slow!"

"I'll show you slow, Mr. Pokémon Master!" she replied. That's why.

A drill instructor watching smiled and wrote some notes down. These notes had nothing to do with their scores, but he did like seeing a little healthy competition between the two.

The mile markers ahead told them that they were only ¾ of a mile from the finish. It was tempting to start running faster right now, but they could tire out early and then the other person might pass them! They weren't taking that risk!

Once they got closer, they did start to speed up. But they stayed tied with each other. Ash growled, running faster than Misty. Misty started running faster than him. "I'M NOT LOSING TO YOU!" he screamed.

"SAME HERE!"

They passed a number of other recruits who stopped and gawked at the two as they ran past. Some drill instructors, on the other hand, liked what they saw.

They finally crossed the finish line with Pikachu not too far behind. They collapsed on the ground, their chests heaving and their legs burning. "I beat you!" Ash breathed.

"Nuh-uh!" she replied.

"If you two are done," their drill instructor said as walked up to them, "You both scored 57 and 58 points."

"Yes!" Ash cried, "In your face, Misty!"

"Ms. Waterflower got 58 points," said the drill instructor. "But, you both scored over 150 points, so that means you'll get to take part in the Victory Mission."

"YES!" Ash cheered even louder.

"Perfect," Misty deadpanned.

"Hey, why are you happy all of a sudden?"

"Let's just finish this and get it over with," she said.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"You'll be happy to hear that Ketchum and Waterflower are moving on to the Victory Mission," the Special Forces agent told a very interested Jessie and James. "They can graduate if they're successful."

"You mean!?"

" _Yes_ , I mean it, Commander James!"

James's face lit up and he hugged the Special Forces agent tightly. The Special Forces agent wasn't thrilled about it, especially since he could barely breathe. "Okay!" he said, "Now let me go, please!"

"Right, sorry!" James said, letting go of the Special Forces agent.

"You're really invested in those two," he observed.

"Yes, well, we sort of tormented them for years, so this is our—"

"I get it!" the Special Forces guy interrupted. The reason he's able to get away with this is because A) James is letting him and B) He answers to the Army, not Team Rocket.

But James was definitely happy, and he couldn't deny it. "So, what's next?"

"Victory Mission," said the Special Forces agent, "They've already passed most of their other subjects, and Victory Mission is a final exam, of sorts."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

The mess hall was filled with energy tonight as recruits talked about what they were going to do in Victory Mission. For the Victory Mission, recruits would start with their squads, then split up into their three-individual (two humans, one Pokémon) teams for the remainder of the 72-hour mission.

For his part, Ash sat on one table near the end of the mess hall. A blue-clad recruit walked up and bumped into him from behind, almost pushing him into his food. Ash turned around and glared at the recruit. "Hey, Ketchum," said the recruit, "Can't wait for the Victory Mission?"

"Go away, whatever-your-name is," he replied.

"Well just for that, I'll make your Victory Mission real fun," said the recruit. Ash shoved him away while shaking his head. He'd definitely have to keep an eye out for that guy.

As for Misty, she was on another table, talking, crazily enough, with said recruit's teammate. "I can't wait to graduate," the partner said.

"Oh really?" Misty asked while taking a sip of water.

"Yeah I mean, it's going to be so much fun when we finally get to go out on missions!" she said, "I've been so excited, I haven't got much sleep."

"That doesn't sound good," said Misty.

"Yeah, I know," the partner replied, "But still—hey, why don't you look excited?"

"Because I've had a bad experience with Team Rocket," she replied.

"But it's so exciting!" said the other recruit, "I don't know why, but I feel a jolt every time I put this uniform and it's like—I don't know how to put it! Don't you—"

"No."

"Suit yourself," said the other recruit. She picked up a carrot and then gave Misty the same look her partner gave Ash. "By the way, don't expect Victory Mission to be easy." Misty gulped nervously as the recruit took a bite out of the carrot.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

It was around noon and a warm, nice day that welcomed the first day of Victory Mission. There was not a cloud in the sky and temps were in the low 70s, making it a perfect day to start the final stage of Team Rocket basic training, the 72-hour final exam known as Victory Mission.

The recruits were excited. They were so close! It was just this one mission and they could finally become Team Rocket members! Their numbers had been whittled down from 300 to 75. And it was possible that the number was going to be reduced even more. That didn't stop the enthusiasm and optimism one bit. Instead, it provided some much-needed motivation to perform exceptionally well.

It's hard to believe they were once a criminal/terrorist organization.

They had to check their backpacks over and over and over and over again. Whatever MREs, water, potions and other equipment they had on their persons. That was all they were allowed to take. And they were expected to survive for the next 72 hours on just that alone. On top of that, if they ran into any other recruits (once they separated), they were authorized to challenge them to a Pokémon battle.

Ash and Misty were busy checking their backpacks. "MREs?" asked Ash.

"Check." She replied.

"Regulation Pokémon food?"

"Check."

"Sleeping bag?"

"Obviously."

"Fire-starting thingies?"

"Check."

"Night-vision?"

"Check!"

"Poké Balls?"

"Check!"

"Boy, this brings back memories, doesn't it, Misty?"

"Oh, yeah!" she said, "We're gonna ace this!"

"… And if you have an emergency, you are allowed to let us know," said the Special Forces drill instructor, "However, if you do, you WILL fail the mission and you will not graduate! Is that understood?"

" _YES, DRILL SERGEANT!_ "

The drill instructor turned to Jessie and James. Jessie stepped forward. "Alright, listen up!" she said, "This Victory Mission is the final test and culmination of 8 weeks of training! Your mission is to traverse the terrain, facing any opponent you come across in order to make it back to base! You have all been briefed on this mission. Remember, this is not indicative of any missions you go on as a member of the New Team Rocket. However, if you use your skills as you have learned them, then you have proven yourselves worthy of being Team Rocket members! Is that clear?"

" _YES, BOSS JESSIE!_ "

"Excellent!" said Jessie. She turned to James. "Now remember, this is not a race, but there is a 72-hour limit."

"Isn't that a race?" asked Ash.

"Kind of stretching it, don't you think?" Misty replied.

"Now then, I assume you all know the little missions you've each been assigned?" Jessie asked.

" _YES, BOSS JESSIE!_ "

"PERFECT!" Jessie replied. "Now then, shall we?"

The Special Forces drill sergeant nodded. "Alright, get with your regular squads and MOVE OUT!"

The recruits gathered in their squads—red, blue and green—and listened to their squad commanders. Then, they departed into the wilderness.

The red squad took a path to the east. The first day was light, only a 10km march on foot while finishing tasks designed to build teamwork. It might be redundant to say that, but that's part of the whole deal. These tasks included climbing walls and taking a few strategic positions. That was pretty much the gist of it.

But about 6 hours into the mission, the squad leaders ordered the trios to go off on their separate ways. Now comes the fun part.

Ash, Misty and Pikachu took off towards the north, which was the direction of the camp. They ran at a steady pace, not trying to tire themselves out, but not taking it too slow. Pikachu ran in front, checking for any wild Pokémon that might get in the way or other recruits. From what they could see in the trees, there was nothing. So far, so good.

With the sun going down, they decided to stop for the night after going for maybe two miles. Both were tired and thirsty, but gulping down their water was a no-no.

"Ash, I know it's tempting, but don't eat every MRE tonight," said Misty.

Ash put his MRE pack down and gave her an incredulous look. "What?"

"Come on Ash, let's not start this," she said, which surprised Ash.

"Why aren't you—"

"Because we've got more important things to worry about than fighting, now we're not going to start," she said.

"Wow Mist, you used to start fights all the time," he said.

"Don't start," she said.

Ash sighed and gently tapped the back of his head against the tree. To be sure, he had no intention of eating every single MRE, but Misty's mistrust was a little insulting. "Come on, you know I'm not going to do that," he said.

"I said don't start," she said firmly, "We've got to worry about more important things."

"Like what?"

"Surviving," she said, "I know we've done it before, but fighting won't help us out."

"And?"

"I'm worried another team's going to try and jump us," she said. "I think there might be one team who's out to get us."

Ash actually thought about it for a moment. "You mean that—"

"There was someone who said they wanted to beat us," said Misty, "Keep an eye out. And let's decide who's going to take guard first."

"Rock paper scissors?"

"Sure."

Misty won, and got to go on guard first. When it came time to go to sleep, Ash rolled out his sleeping bag and stuffed himself in, uttering a "good night" before falling asleep. Misty dowsed the fire and pulled out her night vision goggles to use them. She turned them on and donned them while looking out across the woods to find any movement. She looked at Ash. She didn't want to admit it, but he looked kind of cute when he was sleeping.

It was mostly wild Pokémon and not much else.

She woke him up about three hours later and she went to sleep. They took turns every three hours until daybreak.

They set out that morning on their trek to find the base. The first couple of hours were quiet, save for the occasional wild Pokémon that came close. But other than that, it was smooth sailing.

But of course, it was never easy.

Three hours into their trek, Misty tripped over a wire. The next thing they knew, they were suspended up in the air in a big net. "Great, just great, just like the old days!" Misty shouted.

"Maybe Jessie and James were teasing us?" Ash asked.

"Of course not!" That was not Misty. They looked down and saw two recruits wearing blue uniforms.

"HEY!" Ash shouted, "You're that guy who pushed me yesterday!"

"That was two days ago, idiot!" he snapped.

"Oh right, I forgot," he said.

"What do you want!?" Misty shouted.

"What do you think?" the girl, who was the same one Misty was talking to, "We're going to sabotage your mission."

"I thought Team Rocket was supposed to be getting rid of these types," Misty said as she gave Ash a dirty look.

"Hey come on, there are people like us who join the army and cops," said the boy.

"Well who cares, let us down!" Misty shouted.

"Sorry, no can do," said the girl, "In fact, we're wasting valuable time. Let's get out of here, Jimmy."

"Right after you, Burke," he said. The two ran from the scene, leaving Ash and Misty throwing angry curses at them.

"Oh, this is just GREAT!" Misty screamed, "I can't believe I trusted that bitch!"

"Did you tell her anything?" Ash replied.

"What do you think!?" Misty replied.

"Pikapi, Pikachupi!" Pikachu pleaded.

"This is all YOUR fault!" she snapped.

"MY fault!?"

"Yeah, you wanted to join Team Rocket, after all!"

"Didn't we already have this fight!?"

"We're having it again!"

"PikaPIII! PikachuPIII!"

"I should never have listened to you!" Misty screamed.

"And I shouldn't have invited you!"

"Piii, kaaa, CHUUUUU!" Pikachu had to zap them both again to get them to stop. "Pikachuuu!"

"What, Pikachu!?" Ash snapped.

"Pi-ka!" the electric mouse replied, going off on a tangent that Ash had a hard time understanding until he repeated "Pi-ka, Pi-ka, Pi-ka" over and over again.

"Wait, you want us to stop?" he asked.

"PIIII!" Pikachu replied as if he was saying 'DUUUH!'

"Because we need to work together?"

"PI!"

"And fighting won't get us out of this mess?"

"Pikachuuuu!"

"Well, I would if—" Pikachu slapped Misty to cut her off.

"Pi, pi, pi," Pikachu wagged his finger.

"Sorry, Pikachu," she said.

"What about me?"

"Until we get down from here, I'm not—" Pikachu gave her a dirty look and it made her stop. "I mean, where's your knife?"

"I think it's in my bag," he said. He reached into his bag and pulled it out. "Okay, here we go," he said as he started to cut the net.

"Not there, we'll fall out!" she said.

"Who's cutting the net here!?"

"Oh forget it, I'll show you where to cut!" she said. She pulled out her knife and started cutting a bit higher in the net. Ash growled and started there.

It took several minutes before the two cut their way out of the net. They both dropped to the ground with Pikachu following. "Okay, so now what?" Misty asked.

"What do you think!?" he replied, "We find those two and—"

"Hold up!" Misty grabbed his bag, "We're not going to do that. Let's keep going the same way we were before."

"Okay, fine," he said.

With no more reasons to argue, the trio took off. They'd wasted time trying to get out of the net, and it had cost them. For all they knew, they could be dead last in the standings. Said dead-last finish might not help them graduate.

Of course, graduating was the last thing on their minds. Beating this challenge, surviving and maybe, just maybe, getting back at those two other recruits were.

They only stopped for a quick bite from their MREs. When they were done, they set off again, this time to find the next challenge that they had to pass.

When they found the road, they ran on to it. A pair of Pokémon, a Rhydon and a Machamp, appeared in the middle of the road, blocking their path. "Okay, we're going to have to do this carefully," said Misty.

"Donphan, GO!" Ash summoned his Donphan while Misty stood there stunned.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" she screamed, "When did you turn 10 again!?"

"But Donphan can—"

"It's a Rock/Ground and Fighting type we're dealing with!" she snapped. "Doh, just forget it! Pelipper, go!"

"You got a Pelipper?" Ash asked, "Didn't you bring Psyduck?

"It's a Water type, isn't it?" Misty replied, "And why would I use Psyduck? And why should you care?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Pelipper, use Water Gun on Rhydon!"

Pelipper flew at Rhydon and spat a torrent of water at the Rhydon. The Rhydon curled up and the water only managed to get it wet. In the meantime, the Machamp ran up to Donphan and grabbed him with all four arms before tossing him to the ground.

"Donphan!" Ash cried.

"Ash, Donphan is not good enough!" Misty pleaded.

Ash growled, but he knew Misty was right. "Donphan, return!" Donphan withdrew back into Ash's Poké Ball, but now there was another question. "So now what?" he asked.

"Do you have any Pokémon strong against Rhydon and Machamp?" she asked.

"Well, Ground types are strong against Rock types," he said.

"Did it know any Ground-type moves?"

"Well, no, but—"

"THEN WHY DID YOU SUMMON IT!?"

"Pikapi, PikachuPi!" Pikachu pleaded.

"Do you have anything?" she asked.

"I brought Wartortle with me," he said. "It does know Aqua Tail."

"Ash, that's it!" Misty shouted.

"What's what?"

"Summon Wartortle!" she said.

"Um, okay!" He reached for Wartortle's Poké Ball. "Wartortle, go!"

The same Squirtle that Ash once had, had now evolved into a Wartotle. "Wartortle!" he cried out.

"Pelipper, grab on to Wartortle!" Misty ordered.

"Huh!?"

"Ash, tell Wartortle to withdraw into his shell!"

"Um, okay! Wartortle, use Withdraw!"

Wartortle did so as Pelipper picked him up by his shell. Wartortle panicked, but a little PokeCommuniucation calmed him down. "Now, Pelipper, throw Wartortle at Rhydon and use Aerial Ace on Machamp!"

Now Ash knew what Misty was doing. "Wartortle, when Pelipper lets you go, use Aqua Tail!"

Pelipper flew at the two opponents and then threw Wartortle at Rhydon. Rhydon charged forward, but Wartortle's shell started to spin and Wartotle emerged from the shell, hitting Rhydon with his tail. Pelipper followed, striking Machamp and knocking it to the ground. Both opposing Pokémon wavered, but fell to the ground as they were both knocked out.

Ash and Misty cheered and gave each other a high-five, and Pikachu jumped around.

After withdrawing Wartortle and Pelipper, they set out again. Unfortunately, they were even more delayed by their little spat and battle. But now, it was different. They were a team, after all. They hadn't come to some grand realization, but that was starting to change.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End chapter
> 
> Okay, so how was this?
> 
> The fight between Ash and Misty had to happen. Sorry, but it was necessary in order to move the plot forward. At the same time, I apologize if this "boot camp" arc is taking way too long, since I've got another chapter for it in the works, but hey, pacing's a bit of an issue. Still, I want to get to part where the two graduate and become full members.
> 
> I did some research about US Army basic training, which is why it seems so much like that. It was in order to get a sense of authenticity, really.
> 
> So please, tell me what you think!


	4. Victory Mission, part 2

The New Team Rocket, chapter 4: Victory Mission, Part 2

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

James sighed in relief when he saw that Ash and Misty were moving forward. The Special Forces agent just looked up from his clipboard and back for a second. "They're still in good position," he said, "Although they don't know that."

"I was getting worried!" said James.

"You _really_ want them to graduate," the Special Forces agent concluded.

"Yes, well—"

"Aside from that, I may have to fail Jimmy and Burke," said the Agent, "That's not the kind of interference I want to accept."

"But why!?"

"I can see there's still some criminal in you," said the Agent.

"Oh, sorry," said James.

"Still… I think Ketchum and Waterflower should deal with them so I could have an actual reason."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Ash and Misty did not find Jimmy and Burke. Nor did they find any other recruits. In this sense, they were lucky. On the other hand, they wanted to confront Jimmy and Burke about what happened. But there was another question on Misty's mind that was related to this. "Why didn't they take Pikachu?" she asked.

Pikachu's ears perked up.

"I dunno," he said.

"Well, they were in a hurry," she said. "Maybe they're smarter than Jessie and James."

"Huh?"

"Never mind," she said, "I think they didn't want to make it personal, so they didn't take Pikachu."

"Um, I guess," he replied. "Boy, I didn't know you could be so analytical."

"It comes with being a Gym Leader," she said proudly.

"And I didn't know you were getting into this," he said.

She opened her eyes and glanced at him, eventually realizing what he was talking about. "Oh, um, really?" she asked. "Am I really—"

"Yeah, I think you are," he said. "Do you really believe?"

"I don't know about believe, but I definitely want to survive this," she said. "What about you?"

"I believe," he said, "I think they deserve another chance."

"You're more forgiving than I remember," she said.

"People change," he replied, "You'll never be the same person you were three years ago, even if it is only minor. At least, that's what my mom told me."

"Good old Mrs. Ketchum," she said to herself. "Ash, I'm sorry I've been acting like a complete jerk lately."

"Sorry?"

"I've been being too much of a jerk," she said, "I just didn't think Jessie and James had really changed, and I expressed it the wrong way."

"Do you think they've changed?" he asked.

"If they haven't, then we should leave," she said. "I don't want to be a blind follower."

"Suit yourself," he said.

"Are you?" she replied.

"No," he said.

"No, what?"

"No, I won't be a blind follower," he said.

"Good," she said, "Now let's get to sleep."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"So how are the Twerps doing?" Jessie asked.

"Well, they ran into some trouble-makers named Jimmy and Burke yesterday," said James, "But they're doing okay!"

"Trouble-makers?" Jessie asked.

"Yes, trouble-makers!" said James.

Jessie looked up from her paperwork and made eye contact with James. "Trouble-makers?" she asked.

"A pair of recruits named Jimmy and Burke," said James.

"Did you hire them?"

"What? No, why would I?" asked James.

"To give the Twerps a challenge?" asked Jessie.

"Boss Jessie, if I may interject," said the Special Forces drill instructor, "I noticed Jimmy and Burke have been, well, trouble-makers from the beginning."

"And why are they still in the organization?" asked Jessie. "I don't want miscreants like that in the new Team Rocket!"

"I do intend to fail them," said the Special Forces agent, "Unless Ketchum and Waterflower take care of them, which I suspect they will."

To the Special Forces agent, Jessie didn't get mad. Instead, she threw her head back and laughed in her signature style. "Suspect?" she asked, "Knowing those two, they REALLY want to get their Poke-mitts on Jimmy and Burke!"

"See, this is what I get for not knowing someone's history," said the Special Forces agent.

"And James, are you sure you didn't hire Jimmy and Burke?" asked Jessie.

"You told me not to coerce the recruits!" said James. Meowth crept up to him and sniffed around. James was confused at first, but then Meowth jumped up on Jessie's desk.

"He's tellin' da truth, alright," he said.

"If you weren't, I'd have your head," said Jessie. "How are those Twerps doing, anyhow?"

"I can't divulge that," said the Special Forces agent, "Confidentiality."

"Ugh, FINE!" Jessie said, leaning back against her chair.

"Are you stressed, Jessie?" asked James.

"Taking over the old boss's corporate empire is tough," said Jessie, "I need a break."

"Maybe… I could help with that?" asked James.

Jessie looked up at James and smiled. "Of course," she said, "But you're buying."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

The second day was uneventful. They could not find anyone, and they did their obstacles with precision. There was genuinely nothing they did that was eventful. They went to sleep that night a little disappointed.

They woke up early the next morning and set out for the next station in the course. There, an instructor would tell them to solve obstacles that required them to work as a team. It was a 15-foot wall and they could not use Pokémon in order to scale it, just their regular, normal, human ingenuity. It was difficult, but then again, that's the point. They weren't supposed to just smash right through it, they had to think.

"Come on, move, move, move!" The instructor shouted. Did we mention they had to be quick, too?

Ash grabbed a rope from his bag and tossed it up to the top of the wall. He felt a snag and tugged until he was sure it was tight. He lifted Misty up and she grabbed the rope before pulling herself up. She grabbed onto the rope and tied it down to a peg that would provide a more secure anchor.

Ash pulled himself up and over the top of the wall. Then the two jumped off the wall, with Pikachu hanging on to Ash's uniform. The instructor smiled and wrote some notes down on his clipboard.

The trip pressed on, keeping to the same path. They were still making good time, as far as they knew. Barring an unforeseen disaster, they were going to finish within the 72 hours.

Of course, this being fiction, nothing was ever easy.

An hour passed after the wall test when they stopped to get their bearings. "Let's see here," Misty said while looking at her GPS, and her map, "Okay, so we're here and the base is there. It seems we've got about another 6 hours or so before we make it back to base."

"Six hours?" he asked.

"Unfortunately," she replied.

Ash groaned, but picked up his bag. "Come on, let's get moving," he said as if resigning himself to disappointment.

But when he took one step, he felt the ground underneath him collapse. His past experiences made him jump backwards as the ground gave way into a good-sized pit. "Wow, I almost fell for that!" he said.

"Who could've done that?" asked Misty.

"Who do you think?" A familiar voice caught their attention. Two figures, one on each side of the road, stepped into view.

"Jimmy and Burke, at your service!" said Burke.

"Oh, not you again!" Ash groaned.

"Well, who did you think it was going to be?" Jimmy taunted.

"Well, who cares!?" Ash spat, "Let's do this right here and now! Ready, Misty!?"

"READY!" Misty replied.

"GO! Talonflame!"

"Buizel, go!"

"Nosepass, go!"

"Get them, Breloom!"

All four Pokémon popped out of the PokeBalls and readied for battle. "HA!" Ash laughed, "This should be easy!"

"I dunno," said Misty. "But let's get this done!"

"Right! Talonflame, use Flame Charge on that Breloom!"

"Buizel, Water Gun on the Nosepass!"

Talonflame and Nosepass sounded their replies. Talonflame dove at Breloom, and Buizel spat a torrent of water at the Nosepass. The Breloom jumped out of the way right before Talonflame hit and the Nosepass just stood still and took Buizel's Water Gun attack like it was nothing. "Breloom, Bullet Seed!" said Jimmy.

"Nosepass, use Rock Throw!"

As Talonflame circle, Nosepass threw a cluster of rocks at Talonflame. The bird did its best to dodge, but there were so many that a few hit the poor bird, anyhow.

"Buizel, Water Gun again!" Misty called. Buizel tried to help Talonflame, but Breloom's Bullet Seed hit the weasel Pokémon before it could let off its attack. Misty's hands went to her head as Buizel was knocked down.

"Nosepass, Rollout!" Burke called out. Nosepass curled into a ball and rolled over Buizel, before hitting poor Talonflame hard. Breloom lowered its head and used Headbutt on Talonflame, knocking the bird Pokémon out before it could let off another attack.

"Talonflame, return!" Ash called. "That's no fair!"

"Says the guy who used to fight Team Rocket!" Burke laughed.

"Besides, shouldn't you two be using strategy?" Jimmy taunted.

"Hey, SHUT UP!" Ash barked.

"Ash!" Misty replied. "We gotta keep fighting!"

"Right!" said Ash.

"Buizel, return!" she recalled Buizel, who looked like he was about to pass out from the damage cause by the Bullet Seed attack. Now Misty had a bit of a problem. Who would she call out to face that Breloom? Misty did have something that could help against the Nosepass, but Breloom was still a big question. "Poliwrath, go!"

"You got a Poliwrath!?" Ash sputtered.

"Just summon something else already!" she snapped.

"HEY! Don't yell at me!" he replied. Jimmy and Burke's laughing made him angrier and he pulled out a PokeBall that he would eventually regret. "Donphan, go!"

Donphan trumpeted once he was released, but Misty was not happy. "WHY DONPHAN!?"

"Well, I—"

"Breloom, Bullet Seed both of them!" Jimmy shouted. Breloom spat out his Seeds at both Poliwrath and Donphan. The seeds finished off poor Donphan and knocked out Poliwrath before the poor frog could even get an attack off.

Jimmy and Burke laughed at Ash and Misty. "Pathetic!" said Jimmy. "Are you sure Jessie and James wanted you two to join?"

"They must've been truly desperate!" said Burke. "Hey, Jimmy, what do you say we take their Pikachu, too?"

"FORGET IT!" Ash declared. "Pikachu, you wanna go?"

"Pi-KA!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked and the electric mouse jumped into the fray.

"I might as well find something," she said. "I know!" She grabbed another PokeBall and prepared to throw it. "Starmie, I need—"

Another PokeBall in her bag popped open, and no one, not even poor Misty would be surprised to see who it was. "Oh, PSYDUCK, NOT AGAIN!" she wailed.

"Psyduck?"

Jimmy and Burke broke into laud guffaws at the sight of Psyduck. "And I thought it couldn't get any worse!" said Jimmy.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

Pikachu ran up to Nosepass and jumped into the air, spun and whacked Nosepass with his tail. Nosepass, who was caught off guard, flew several yards before coming to a stop and struggling to get up. But, the attack was enough of a surprise and Pikachu hit it hard enough that Nosepass… passed out. Burke, who was so busy laughing, was so surprised, nothing but exasperated gasps escaped her mouth.

"Serves you right for taunting us!" Ash boasted. Misty gave him a fist bump.

"This isn't over!" said Burke. "Torterra, go!" She tossed her PokeBall and a Torterra emerged in front of Pikachu.

"Pi, kaaa," Pikachu sighed.

"Oh, jeez," said Ash. This was bad. Electric types were not particularly strong against grass-types and with another Grass-type facing the ever-dopey Psyduck… this didn't look good. Especially since Misty wasn't sure if her Water Pokémon could beat a Torterra.

"Come on, what's the matter?" asked Jimmy. "Skitty got your tongue?"

"SHUT UP!" Ash barked.

"Breloom, Bullet Seed!"

"Torterra, Solar Beam!"

Breloom spat out another round of seeds and Torterra gathered sunlight. The seeds hit Psyduck, causing the dopey duck to fall down. Pikachu scramble to get out of the way as Torterra fired his blast of sunlight at the poor little mouse. Pikachu dove to the ground and the Solarbeam just barely missed hitting Pikachu, only grazing his back and made Ash and Misty dodge. "Holy Miltank!" Misty cried out.

"Face it, you're done!" said Burke. "Ash, your problem is you never think! Misty, you're too overspecialized! ANYONE watching you two could figure that out in a microsecond! Face it, you're done!"

"Ash, what are we gonna do?" asked Misty.

"I don't know," he said.

"AAAH! DAMMIT!" She screamed and punched the top of Psyduck's head so hard, the duck screamed loudly. He ran around like a mad man, shouting the first part of his name over and over again.

"Breloom, Bullet Seed!" Jimmy shouted. Breloom prepared to fire another round of seeds at Psyduck when the dopey duck stopped in its tracks. "Hey, what's going on?" asked Jimmy. Breloom fired the bullets on Psyduck's head, but nothing happened.

"Psy… Duck!" A blue glow enveloped Psyduck.

"Oh, did I forget to mention something?" Misty asked, "It's best not to give Psyduck a headache." The blue glow enveloped Torterra and Breloom, rendering them immobile. The same thing happened to Jimmy and Burke.

"W-what's going on!?" asked Jimmy.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash shouted, Pikachu got up and charged at the stunned Torterra. Pikachu jumped, spun and slammed his tail against Torterra. The big grassy tortoise wavered before falling to the ground and passing out.

"Torterra, return!" Burke said, struggling to get her Pokeball out.

"Psyduck, Psychic!" Misty said. Psyduck lifted the enemies up off the ground. All four, Jimmy, Burke, Breloom and Torterra were lifted up off the ground. Then Psyduck threw them about until they came crashing down to the ground, with all four of them stunned. Now Torterra finally went back into its PokeBall.

"Pikachu… Thunder," said Ash. Pikachu's cheeks bristled and he released a great bolt of electricity that zapped Breloom. Jimmy and Burke watched in shock as Breloom wavered and then fell down. "Sorry," said Ash.

"Let's get out of here!" Burke cried. Jimmy recalled Breloom and the duo ran off into the woods.

"YyyyyEAH!" Ash cheered, then gave Misty a high-five. Pikachu ran up to Ash and gave him a big hug, while Misty hugged a very confused Psyduck.

They started off again after this, but they knew that they were running late. But they fired on all cylinders now. Any challengers who came near them were easily beaten. Any obstacles they came across were solved and they had every reason and right to be excited about what was coming. They were going to pass the Victory Mission and become members of Team Rocket!

Okay, that wasn't a given, and it wasn't even on their minds. But they were so excited it didn't matter.

The sun began to set as they kept on. Now another thought appeared, and that was the fear they weren't going to make it. "Oh, dang!" Ash cursed.

"Stop complaining!" Misty replied, "We're going to do this!" She reached for Ash's hand and took it. Ash didn't think about what she was doing, he just gripped tighter.

They stopped a couple more times to catch their breath, eat and drink, but for the most part, they ran at a brisk, steady pace.

The sun began to set below the tree line. The urgency of the situation was more obvious now, and they kept up their pace. Pikachu, who could not run as much as they could, had resigned himself to sitting on Ash's shoulder. "We're not gonna make it!" said Misty.

"Yes, we are!" he replied.

They weren't the only ones who were worried. Jessie and James watched the recruits slowly coming in from Victory Mission and saw the Twerps were not among them. They couldn't even see them among the recruits that had fallen out of the running. "What's going on!?" James whined. "Where are the Twerps?"

"They got held up," said the Special Forces agent.

"Yes, we know they got held up, but that's not the problem!" Jessie replied.

"I heard they got held up even more," said the Special Forces agent. "I heard they took out Jimmy and Burke."

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" James whined.

"WE PAY YA TA TELL US WHAT'S GOIN' ON!" Meowth screamed.

"You pay me to train them!" the Special Forces agent replied, "I can't control what happens in there!"

"BUT WE NEED THEM!" James bellowed.

"That's not my concern!" said Special Forces instructor, "My job is to be impartial, and I can't play favorites! Besides, they could still pass!"

Hope appeared on the Trio's faces again. They turned to the finish line to wait for the Twerps' arrival.

"There it is!" Misty declared. The base could be seen creeping over the horizon. They had made it!

"FINALLY!" Ash cheered.

"PIKAAAA!"

The trio broke into a faster run. The end was so tantalizingly close, they could taste it! Civilization! Warm beds! Hot food, not MREs! The end of this hellish training period, it was almost over!

They were afraid of Jimmy and Burke appearing out of nowhere to stop them, but nothing happened. They were in the clear! A set of figures bouncing up and down in excitement could be seen as the finish came into view.

"DERE DEY ARE!" Meowth cheered.

"THEY'VE MADE IT!" James cheered.

"I'm going to cry!" said James.

"Not yet!" said the Special Forces agent.

"Come on, come on!" James cheered.

"You twos can do it!" Meowth cheered.

"There they are!" Misty pointed. "We're almost there!"

The last moments of Victory Mission felt like a blur. But they finally crossed the finish line and collapsed onto the ground.

"DEY MADE IT!" Meowth cheered, with tears streaming down his face. "I can't believe I'm actually happy for da Twoips!"

The Special Forces instructor ignored them and walked up to Ash and Misty. Their chests were heaving and their breath was labored. Their legs could not hold them up and their chests burned hotter than a Torkoal fire. "So, how'd we do?" Ash breathed.

"You finished dead last out of all the finishing recruits," he said. Their hearts sank. "You went over the 72 hours by 5 minutes." They both let out disappointed sighs. "You almost broke up and you lost 4 Pokémon total."

"We failed," said Ash.

"However, your scores here are very impressive and your teamwork, while it took a hit, was exceptional. Plus, I didn't see that Psyduck coming, I could've sworn it was a deus ex machina."

"It was foreshadowed," said Ash.

"In either case, the feedback I got from the instructors is enough," said the instructor, "Congratulations. You've passed."

Now the exhaustion didn't matter. They both jumped triumphantly high in the air, cheering and high-fiving.

The Team Rocket Trio, seeing Ash and Misty celebrate, could not believe it either. Eight weeks of giving the Twerps hell had gone out the window, and they could finally show how happy they were without being partial.

" _YOU DID IIIIT!_ " They cheered as they ran up to Ash, Misty and Pikachu, tackling them and hugging them tightly.

"WE'RE SO PROUD OF YOU!" James wailed.

"WE'RE SO GRATEFUL YOU DID IT, OH, I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING!" Jessie cried.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M HUGGIN' PIKACHU!" Meowth whined.

Ash, Misty and Pikachu felt a little sheepish, but they hugged the Rocket trio back. They couldn't understand the inelegant blubbering from the trio about how they were going to be the best bosses ever. But that didn't matter. They were just happy to have survived Team Rocket training.

"Right!" Jessie said, letting go of them. "Let me be the first to welcome you to the NEW Team Rocket!" She saluted the two, and they saluted back.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End chapter
> 
> HOORAY, THEY DID IT!
> 
> Most of this chapter was done after cutting from the last chapter and pasting it into this. I had intended for Jimmy and Burke to be like a final test, if you will.
> 
> But I'm finally done with the training arc! Now I can finally get to the good part—Ash and Misty as members of Team Rocket! So please, tell me what you think!


	5. The First Day

The New Team Rocket, chapter 5: The First Day

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Well, this was a little embarrassing.

With the way the new Rocket uniforms felt and Jessie, James and Meowth practically fawning over them, it wasn't hard to feel kind of sheepish like Ash and Misty were. They'd just gotten them fitted and were wearing them for the first time. To their non-surprise, their uniforms were identical to the old ones that Jessie and James wore when they chased and tormented them all those years ago. It was somehow ironic that they be dressed this way, but it was sentimental for Jessie and James.

"I can't believe it, Jessie!" James cried, wiping tears away with a handkerchief, "I thought I'd never see the day when the Twerps finally join us!"

"And all it took was turning goody-two-shoes and throwing out the boss!" Jessie laughed.

"Ah who cares, day're one of us now!" said Meowth.

Ash and Misty would have said something snarky had it not been for the genuine pride and happiness on Jessie, James and Meowth's faces. This clearly meant a lot to the trio. It didn't stop them from blushing, though. That was uncontrollable and they could tell their new commanders were taking it in stride.

"Sorry if we're being silly," said Jessie. "But, we never thought you'd be wearing the same kind of uniforms we did."

"Yeah, neither did I," Misty said while looking over her uniform. Jessie laid a reassuring hand on Misty's shoulder and offered a smile at her. Misty still looked away and tugged on her long black glove to make sure it still fit.

"You look good, Misty," said Ash. Misty blushed again and turned away. She didn't dare look at Jessie, who must've been giving her a teasing smile.

"So when is our first mission?" she asked.

"We haven't found one for you yet," said Jessie. "We're still clearing some hoops with the government, or whatever the term is."

"But when we do, we'll let you know!" said James.

"So… what should we do?" asked Ash. "Can we go home?"

"No, we need you to stick around," said James.

"Misty, I need you to come with me," said Jessie.

"What for?" she asked.

"No questions, just come with me!"

"Urk! Yes, Boss Jessie!" she said as she followed her out of the office.

"Hey, wait!" Ash called. But James's hand on his shoulder made him stop.

"Come on, Ketchum, we've got work to do!" James said while dragging Ash along to his assignment.

The walk to… wherever they were going was mostly silent. Jessie didn't turn around to say anything to Misty and Misty didn't say anything to her. It resulted in some awkward silence that was only broken whenever some of Jessie's subordinates passed by saluted her. "You still don't trust us, do you?" Jessie finally asked.

Misty flinched, but kept her composure. "Well, um, I don't know," she said. She admitted to herself that even after wanting to graduate from basic training, working so hard with Ash and deciding to be an enthusiastic, but not blind, follower, old memories still persisted.

"I don't blame you," said Jessie, "Sometimes, I don't trust myself."

Misty almost stopped in her tracks. "I… I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "Is there anything I can do?"

Jessie turned to Misty and looked at her with the saddest eyes that Misty had ever seen on her. Oh, there'd been times when Jessie looked sad, but it was nothing like this. But then Jessie's eyes changed and gained the light of hope and optimism. "One thing you can do," she said, "Is believe in us and this New Team Rocket."

"I can't guarantee that," said Misty.

"I don't want a guarantee or promise," said Jessie. "I already know you're not going to do that after everything we put you through."

This was unexpected, at least to Misty. She never saw anything that could be considered thoughtful coming from Jessie when the now Boss was chasing her and Ash around, just angry or boastful ranting. Jessie of course, saw the surprise on Misty's face and laughed.

"You never expected me to say that, did you?" she asked.

"No," Misty admitted. "I always thought you were a bitch."

Jessie's laughter was more like the laughter Misty knew. For some reason, that made her feel better, and she laughed, too. "I like you even more!" Jessie said while throwing an arm around Misty's shoulder, "I can TELL we're going to get along."

"Um, yay?" Misty wasn't sure if she should be pleased or creeped out. "So… what did you want me to do?"

"Oh, that's right!" said Jessie, "Come with me, I've got an assignment for you."

Jessie led her to a room on the second floor of the main building. Officer Jenny and Misty's Special Forces drill instructor were in there, seated at computers. Officer Jenny looked up for a moment and then stood up to greet Misty. "Great to see you, Ms. Waterflower!" she said with a salute.

"Um, what's this about?" Misty asked.

"Just need you to do some filing with these two," said Jessie. Misty's face faulted, but Jessie was adamant. "Hey, I'm still trying to fill in some staffing gaps! Do you have any idea how hard it is to run an organization like this?"

"FINE!" Misty groaned. "How much do you want me to do?"

"Actually, not that much," said Officer Jenny, "Just a few boxes." She pointed to about ten. Misty sighed. It was going to be a LONG day.

James, meanwhile, took Ash in a different direction. And he was also more talkative than Jessie was. Ash must've lost track of what his new commander was saying, because he'd droned off after talking about how exciting it was to lead the team he joined and hoped to—actually, it was getting interesting again. "… This is an amazing opportunity for me, I can finally prove to myself that I'm actually a good guy, and not a bad guy!"

"Um… okay," said Ash.

"Were you paying attention?" James inquired with a suspicious look.

"O-of course I was!" Ash panicked, "You were talking about how excited you were!"

"… If you weren't listening, at least be honest about it."

"Okay, I did kinda stop paying attention," said Ash. "Um, what did you need me to do again?"

"Oh, that's right!" said James, "I need you to help me with something!"

James led Ash to a room filled with technology and science-y stuff. A blond-haired teenager, about Ash's age, was busy working on some of the equipment. He seemed familiar, but Ash wasn't sure who it could be. The teen groaned in frustration when his screwdriver slipped. He turned around to look and although his eyes were obscured by the shine in his glasses, Ash could've sworn the person had recognized him.

"Meet our new R&D overseer-person!" said James, "His name is Clemont—"

"Ash, is that you?" Clemont asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Clemont?" Ash asked, "I didn't know you joined Team Rocket, too!"

"Actually, I'm technically a freelancer," said Clemont, "They're paying me, but don't expect them to call me a member anytime soon."

"Oh, that's right, you two know each other!" said James. "I forgot he was the other Twerp in Kalos."

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Ash.

"Oh, just help our new Twerp R&D overseer-person test our equipment!" said James.

"Wait, what!?" Ash cried out, "And have it blow up on me!?"

"PLEEEEEASE?" James asked, giving Ash some puppy-dog eyes that the Twerp couldn't say no to.

"Okay," he said, which made Pikachu sigh.

"Great! I'll check back in an hour and see how you're doing!" James said enthusiastically, "But if you need any help, don't hesitate to call me!" He slammed the door.

Ash sighed again. "Okay, Clemont, what are we—" When he turned, he saw Clemont's glasses shining. "Um, Clemont, what are you—"

"I have the PERFECT new gadget!" he said.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"… Maybe we shouldn't be making the Twerps do odd jobs," said James.

"What makes you think that?" asked Jessie.

"Well, um, maybe just guilt or something like that," James replied.

"If ya thought dat way, ya shoulda said so soonah!" said Meowth.

"Better late than never, right?" asked James.

"Well, if we do let them know we're not being too hard on them, they'll have no hard feelings, right?" asked Jessie.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

In all fairness, Misty was getting a good workout lifting those file boxes. The disappointing part is, Officer Jenny and Special Forces Agent Richards were making her haul those boxes in her surprisingly uncomfortable uniform, which among other things forced her to take off her uniform shirt, but more importantly, left her exhausted by the time she got to the 4th file box.

She stopped and wiped her brow while pulling on the collar of her uniform's black undershirt to cool off. Agent Richards watched her, shaking his head in disapproval. "Come on, Waterflower," he said, "Are you tired already?"

"How many files do you have in that thing?" she asked breathlessly.

"More than enough," said Agent Richardson.

"Sorry we have to do this," said Officer Jenny, "We're just swamped with other work right now."

Misty huffed and hung her head. "I hope Ash is doing okay."

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A menacing robot with multiple arms chased after Ash all around the R&D lab, with Clemont desperately chasing after and trying to keep it under control. "IT WANTS TO KILL ME! IT'S THE RISE OF THE MACHINES!"

"That's not what AIs can do, Ash!" Clemont shouted, "It's just malfunctioning!"

Ash tripped and fell on his face as the multi-armed robot closed in. "PIKACHU!"

"PI-Kaaa… CHUUUU!" Pikachu zapped the multi-armed robot, causing a big explosion.

When the smoke cleared, poor Clemont stood ash-faced and his glasses hanging off his head. "Um, sorry Clemont," said Ash.

"No worries," said Clemont, "It's not like I liked that robot anyway."

I'm baaaack!" James sang, opening the door, "How are you—" When he saw what happened, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"Looks like I need to test out some bugs," said Clemont.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"UGH! This SUCKS!" Misty shouted. Suffice to say, she and Ash had a bad day.

"Um, I take it things didn't go well?" Jessie asked. Misty answered that with a dirty look directed at Jessie. "Well! Forgive me for wanting to give you something to do, Twerp!"

"Please don't call me that," she said.

In the old days, Jessie would've snapped. But this time, she didn't. Misty was too busy brooding to notice, but Jessie sighed and leaned back. "We're really trying, you know," she said. Misty glanced over at Jessie. "It went bad, didn't it?"

"Very bad," Misty replied, "Agent Richards wasn't much help."

"I thought I asked him to help," said Jessie. She sighed, but the guilt was still there. "When we were still under the Boss, he made do some filing, too," she said.

"Really?" asked Misty.

"Yeah," Jessie replied, "Except he'd yell things like 'if you don't put those in the right place I'll throw you to my Tauros herd!'"

For some reason, Misty found that funny. "Did it work?" she asked.

"Well, we got it done," she said, shrugging, "I remember we managed to escape the Tauros on more than one occasion."

"And I thought Giovanni was already unpleasant," said Misty.

"I swear we're not going to be like that," said Jessie, "We want to make your time with us comfortable."

"I appreciate it," said Misty, "I'm just tired."

"Ugh, I know!" said Jessie, "Paperwork takes a lot out of you!"

"Not as much as having to carry all those files," said Misty.

"Hey, come on," said Jessie, "I've been busy and I haven't been able to file them!"

"So you asked me to do it," Misty replied,

"Would it make you feel better if I said it was because I trust you?"

"… Kinda."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"So, um, no hard feelings right?" James asked as Ash finished cleaning up after the big explosion.

"Yeah, no hard feelings," said Ash.

"Um, actually, I'm the one who should be apologizing," said Clemont.

"Clemont, I'll never have hard feelings towards you," said Ash. Clemont sighed in relief while James, who was standing a few feet away from Ash, could hear the double meaning in Ash's words.

"And I thought we'd turned a corner," said James.

Ash was confused for a moment before realizing what he'd said. "N-no, that's not what I meant!" he said. But it was too late. James looked like he was genuinely hurt. "I'm sorry, James."

"Why are you mad at me?" asked James.

"I'm not mad," Ash replied.

"Look, I'm trying here!" James said, gripping Ash's shoulders, "I want you to believe in us, not get mad and leave!"

"But I'm not mad!" said Ash.

"I think I heard you swearing at James," said Clemont.

"Yeah, but I was being chased!" said Ash.

"Look, what do you want me to do?" asked James.

"I don't think this conversation is going anywhere," Clemont sighed.

James could see this as well, and he sighed, running his hands through his hair. Unable to think of anything to say, he decided to leave. "James, wait!" Ash called out.

James stopped and turned around. "What is it?" he asked.

"James, I'm not mad!" he said, "I'm just… well, I don't know how to put it."

"You're not mad?" asked James.

"No, I'm not," Ash replied. "Just the heat of the moment, you know?"

James sighed again. "Thanks," he said, "I guess I overreacted."

"But… this isn't exactly what I imagined when you asked me and Misty to join," said Ash.

"So, you're… Oh, I get it!" said James, "You're disappointed!"

"Exactly!" Ash replied.

"Sorry," said James, "But there won't be a mission for a while."

Ash was disappointed, but he understood James' apology.

That's when James threw his arm around Ash's shoulders and pulled him away from a confused Clemont, even though Pikachu just managed to jump back onto Ash's shoulder. "Come on," he said, "Let's find Jessie!" James led Ash around the base until they found Jessie.

She was laughing with Misty.

Just the sight of it was strange—neither of them had gotten used to actually being allies—but since Misty was still a bit skeptical about the whole thing, just the sight of her laughing with a former enemy was very surprising. The same with Jessie, of course, but that's a whole other matter. "Oh, Ash!" Misty said once she caught sight of him, "Jessie was just telling me the funniest story!"

"Why doesn't she tell me funny stories?" asked James.

"Oh, sorry James," said Jessie, "We're just working things out."

"So… I take it you two are getting along now?" asked Ash.

"Yep!" said Misty, "Jessie's a lot nicer than I thought!"

"Oh, you think I'm nice?" Jessie asked excitedly, "Thank you so much!"

"Well, you guys are a lot nicer when you're not trying to steal our Pokemon," said Misty.

"By the way, they hired—"

"Ash!" Clemont raced up to Ash and bent over while trying to catch his breath, "Did you have to leave—who's that?"

"Oh, Clemont, this is the friend I told you about," said Ash, "This is Misty. Misty, this is Clemont."

"Nice to meet you," said Misty.

"Do we really need more characters?" asked Jessie, "Clemont, could you run along and play with your machines?"

"But I just—"

Jessie pointed in the direction of his R&D lab, making poor Clemont walk all the way back to his lab.

"That wasn't very nice," said Ash.

Jessie was about to respond, but she sighed instead, recognizing that Ash had a point. "Sorry," she said, "But being 'good' and 'nice' are still hard to do."

"How do you two do it?" asked James, "Be such goody-two shoes all the time?"

"There's no big secret," said Misty, "You just do what you feel and/or know is right. If it feels good, then it's good."

Jessie, James and Meowth (who just showed up) looked at each other for a few moments and back to Ash, Misty and Pikachu, and then back again. The wheels were obviously turning, but the new members didn't say anything, instead waiting for their employers to respond. "Oh, now I remember!" said James, "We HAVE done things like that before! We just couldn't remember it! Thanks, Twerps!"

"There you go!" said Ash, "Just remember that!"

"Dat's easy!" Meowth said jumping onto James' head.

"I hope so," said Misty.

"Don't worry, we'll handle the rehabilitation," Jessie said, throwing an arm around Misty's shoulders, "Why don't you two go take the night off?"

"Oh, thanks," said Misty.

"And if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to come and see us!" said James.

"Look you two," said Jessie, "We want you to stay with us. We promise we'll be the best bosses we can be!"

"Okay," said Ash.

They were about to leave when Agent Richards ran down the hall towards them. He was not in a desperate hurry, but he looked as if he had something to say to them. When he came up, he stopped and handed some papers to Jessie. "Just got this from my superiors," he said, "They've been tracking this one group and they want us to check them out—I mean,  _you_." The paper had a red "CLASSIFIED" stamp on it, but it was clear that it had been faxed from his superiors to the Team Rocket base.

Jessie took the paper and looked it over. Her expression was firm and stone, and her eyes scanned the page several times over. She checked back again and again, making sure it said what it said. She nodded and then looked to Agent Richards. He shrugged as if to tell her something. She looked back and sighed. It didn't look good, at least that's what James could tell.

Then Jessie looked at both James and Agent Richards with a smile on her face. Then she turned to Ash and Misty.

"Well, it seems the Twerps have their first assignment!"

Ash and Misty gasped happily. "You mean it!?" Ash asked.

"You two will be briefed and you leave tomorrow," said Jessie. "Good luck!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how was that? Was it any good? I needed a little character development here, and to show that Jessie and James were actually trying to be good. But then again, you probably know that. But we've got Ash and Misty finally getting a mission! Are you excited?
> 
> Let me know!


	6. The Giratinists

The Team Rocket plane flew across the landscape, leaving a loud roar in its wake. A few people stopped and looked up from the ground before moving about their business. For all they knew, it was just another plane flying over their heads, nothing to care about. They just went on with their happy little lives, never caring about what was going on outside their towns and their views. It was the simple monotony of daily life.

A-HEM, moving on. The westbound plane made a turn towards the southwest. Our two passengers, Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower, held on in their seats. Ash gripped his seat, but realized he was being silly, as did Misty. They looked at each other as if to recognize what they were doing, and both shrugged before turning to the middle of the plane, and their fellow passenger.

Special Forces Agent Richards, seated across from them, read some reports on a clipboard. While his face was stoic, he'd make a few eyebrow movements here and there and his mouth would move. Occasionally, he'd let out a sigh. Not a regular sigh, but a sigh that was more of the 'I can't believe what I'm reading, but I'm not entirely surprised' variety. He flipped a piece of paper over and read the next page. His head jerked back gently at what he saw next.

Suffice to say, Ash and Misty were nervous. After all, this was their first assignment as members of the new Goody-Two-Shoes Team Rocket. Being nervous was pretty much essential, but their pounding hearts in their chest kind of made it difficult to keep focused.

Agent Richards noticed this when he looked up from his clipboard. "You two nervous?"

" _Yes,_ " they replied in unison, something which surprised them.

Agent Richards laughed, then put his clipboard down. "Don't worry," he said, "You'll be alright. Considering the antics you two got into that Jessie and James told me about, I think you can handle this. Personally, I'd rather prepare more, but since Team Rocket's MO is devoid of anything close to subtlety…"

"Can you just run the mission by us again one more time?" asked Ash.

"Gladly," said Agent Richards, "Your job is to infiltrate and take out a group of Giratinists. Now, these aren't your garden-variety, 'mom, I want to rebel, so I'll pretend I'm worshipping Giratina', or LaVeyan Giratinists, or even those ritual-abusing boogeymen. These guys are the real deal. They're led by some former Teams Galactic, Plasma and Flare members who've recruited disaffected youth into their little terrorist cult. Their plan is to catch Giratina and use it to do… whatever Giratina does."

"Yeesh," said Ash, "That sounds bad."

"And that's where you two come in," said Agent Richards, "This should be easy for you two."

"Are you sure?" asked Misty.

"They may be the real deal, but they're brand new and incompetent," said Agent Richards, "We've been tracking them, and they've already managed to launch a few attacks. But they haven't been very effective. What we're concerned about is if they're allowed to grow. You know the phrase, 'practice makes perfect', well, we're not too crazy about that." He handed them a sheet of paper each. "These are the guys I want you to focus on. Part of your job is to make sure they don't escape."

"Why?" asked Ash.

"So they can be arrested!" Agent Richards laughed, "You're just going in there to soften 'em up. I know it sounds insulting, but this was the only way Team Rocket could do what Jessie and James want to do. Leave enough evidence for us to present a solid case to the judge and jury, and you'll be good."

"So we're doing the government's dirty work," Misty said as she looked at a picture of a former Team Galactic admin with a blue-colored bowl-cut.

"No," said Agent Richards, "If you were, you probably wouldn't be doing  _this_."

"And what if we fail?" asked Misty.

"If you fail, don't worry about it," said Agent Richards, "If my experience has taught me anything, it's that anything can happen. Going in with a strategy is great, but sometimes, ya gotta wing it."

"That's reassuring," Misty said sarcastically.

"Look, it's the best I can do," said Agent Richards. "Heck, I had to have Jessie and James delay this mission by a week to prepare you guys. Heck, I've had to train upwards of over a year for operations I never did, and sometimes, things would go south, fast. But since you guys are good at strategy and improvising, I'm not worried."

"Thanks," said Ash.

"ETA five minutes!" the pilot called out.

"Roger that!" Agent Richards replied. "Police and Guard troops will be on standby. When you're done, press your wrist watches; that sends a signal to them that they can go in. Only use it when you've captured your targets or in the case of absolute emergency, understand?"

"Got it," said Ash.

"Loud and clear," said Misty.

"Pi-KA," Pikachu finished.

"Perfect! And, one more thing." Agent Richards reached into his pocket and pulled out two pieces of paper. "Jessie and James wanted me to give these to you." He handed both pieces of paper to Ash and Misty. They opened them up and looked them over. Their faces faulted and their mouths hung open.

"You gotta be kidding me!" said Ash, "This is a Team Rocket Motto!"

"Hey, Jessie and James were adamant about it," Agent Richards said, holding up his hands to emphasize his point, "They didn't want you going without it."

"But why?" asked Misty, "Didn't they want Team Rocket to change?"

"They said it's vital!" said Agent Richards, "They told me, Team Rocket without its red 'R' and motto is not Team Rocket! Besides, the words have been changed."

"ONE MINUTE!"

"Alright, time to go!" Agent Richards said. Ash and Misty stood up. The plane was already slowing down, and had begun to lower to the ground for a shorter drop. Ash picked Pikachu up and attached him to his parachute harness, tugging at it to make sure it was tight and pulling the goggles over his buddy's eyes. "Once you jump out, activate your parachute! And once you land, activate your tracking and communications devices, understand?"

" _Got it!_ " Ash and Misty replied.

"THIRTY SECONDS!"

The back of the plane opened. The ground was getting closer and closer at a steady pace, but they were still high enough for parachutes. Ash grabbed onto a harness and waited for Agent Richards' signal. He held his hand up and waited for the pilot to give the go-ahead. His stomach found its way to the tip of his mouth and he struggled to swallow. He did, but not without some serious effort to do so. He looked over at Agent Richards, then to Misty.

She was silently psyching herself up for the jump. Her chest heaved over and over again, meaning she was having just as much difficulty getting ready as he was. It made him feel better. She tapped his should and pointed out to the ground, and Ash turned back. She shook her head, but readied herself, anyway, pulling the goggles over her eyes.

"GO!" Agent Richards brought his arm down. Ash instantly ran and jumped out of the plane, followed closely by Misty.

Ash honestly had no thoughts, but felt an exhilarating and euphoric rush as soon as he jumped out of the plane. That lasted a fraction of a second, and it was replaced by the wind hitting his face hard and fast. He didn't have to worry about his eyes, but his cheeks stung. Even so, it didn't feel like he was going fast. Instead, the landscape looked serene below him. In the distance, the horizon barely seemed to move. It was like time had stopped.

A yellow light started flashing in his goggles. This meant he had to pull his parachute cord in a few seconds. He saw Misty giving him the 'OK' sign next to him. She held up three fingers… two… one… Misty pulled her cord and seemed to stop in midair. Ash pulled his next. He feared that it would not come out, but he felt the force of it, and it was like he jumped into a pool.

Both quickly realized they'd fallen several thousand feet in a few seconds. It wasn't the first time, they'd skydived, but it was the first time they'd done it on their own. Thank goodness for practice!

It took several minutes for them to drift gently down to the ground. Their drop zone was marked by a pair of strobe lights several hundred yards apart. They both landed safely inside both of them.

After getting their bearings, they removed their skydiving equipment and hid them in a box marked with a Team Rocket "R". Ash checked Pikachu over to make sure the rodent's fur was okay, and it was. Now came the hard part.

They activated their tracking and Pokétches before setting off. Their Pokétch showed they weren't too far off from their target, only about less than a mile to the north.

The walk to their target was easy, but only in the sense that there seemed to be no patrols in their way. The terrain, on the other hand, made it a little difficult. Their uniforms were not the best for crossing rocky and grassy terrain. Even when they were travelling as kids, their clothes were still sufficient for those long walks over rough terrain.

Who designed these uniforms, anyway?

Ash was just walking along when he felt someone grab his shoulder. He struggled to get out of their grip, but when he saw it was Misty who grabbed him, he calmed down. He was confused, but he calmed down. She pointed at something obscured by the bushes she'd pulled him into.

Two sentries walked past, looking around. It was evident they hadn't seen the Team Rocket trio, but they were close enough that they could have seen them. That was close! Ash would've sighed in relief if they weren't five feet away.

But Misty reached for her belt and grabbed a PokéBall. Ash watched her, unable to say what was on his mind for fear of getting caught. She tossed the ball up in the air and Politoed popped out. "Politoed, hypnosis!" she said.

The two sentries didn't have long to react, as Politoed used the attack on them. Their eyelids drooped and they fell over to the ground.

"Uh, why did you do that?" asked Ash.

"I wasn't gonna wait," she replied. "Come on, we gotta hide these two!"

"Shouldn't we be asking them where the entrance is?" he asked.

"I know where it is!" she replied, pulling the sentry into the bush, "It's on the Pokétch!"

"What—AGH!" He knew he didn't have a way to reply to her. Instead, he stewed in his juices while she pulled him along to the entrance.

The entrance was to an old, abandoned silver mine. Naturally, the bad guys would hide out there. There were no other sentries, which meant Ash and Misty took out the ones assigned to guard this entrance. Or the regular guards hadn't taken their spot yet. But whatever it was, they weren't about to question this and let the opportunity to sneak right in go to waste.

Moving away from the plot here, it is NOT a good idea to enter an abandoned mine. You're taking a huge risk, and it's not worth it. Only enter mines you know to be truly safe.

But getting back to the plot here, it became clear to both of them that "abandoned" did not apply here. Lights were strung up in the halls and the supports looked brand new. Someone had been here for a while. No guesses who that was.

Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and sniffed the air. "Pika!" he pointed to the right tunnel of an upcoming fork. The trio took that direction.

So far, there were no Giratinists coming their direction. That was good. It made the job less stressful. But then again, Misty was a little worried that they were going to get complacent. She was worried about Ash, though. There was no way of knowing if he was going to run off and ruin the whole operation on his own or stick to the plan.

To his credit, Ash was too nervous to do that.

The end of the tunnel came soon enough and they found out what was awaiting them. It did not look like a stereotypical cult dungeon seen in the movies. Machinery was everywhere, being tended to by engineers. Cult leaders, dressed in simple uniforms, watched these engineers work.

The more concerning part was below them. Some trainers were taking part in battles, no doubt perfecting their skills. And they looked pretty good. The battles were all evenly-matched, with the Pokémon they were using fighting with aplomb and vigor. Okay, they  _were_  only practicing, but they looked like real battles and they looked very good. Ash was tempted to just jump in and challenge every single one of them right now if he didn't remember that he had a mission to complete.

The trio found a conveniently-placed rock jutting up from the ground where they could hide behind. There was more there; an altar at the end of the big hall, that even from the far angle and distance, looked like Giratina getting ready to strike. A statue of Darkrai was next to it. They didn't know it was possible, but it seemed these guys worshiped Darkrai, too.

The sound of loud drums echoed throughout the hall. The cult members stopped and turned towards both altars. Several figures, dressed in dark robes and shielding their faces with hoods, walked out into the large hall. They carried religious relics and objects, each of them representing Giratina and Darkrai. They walked up to the altar with the Giratina statue and stopped there.

They could not see the ritual being performed from this angle. But they could hear the head priest beseech the statue of Giratina. Or just Giratina. The priest turned and performed his ritual, but instead of hearing it in their language, the priest spoke an old, dead and sinister-sounding language. While no language is sinister, the way the priest spoke it made the language sound that way.

When the ritual was over, the priest held his arms out and stepped in front of a microphone. "Friends! Brothers! Sisters!" he called, "Our time has come! Too long have Giratina and Darkrai been slandered and libeled by society. It is our duty to revive them and show the world just how strong they are!" The cult members cheered.

"Our enemies our everywhere," he said, "Those who say that Arceus or Mew are the creator of all creatures, and the so-called 'scientists' who claim we 'evolved' from beasts. I am no beast, I am a human! And I am no slave to Arceus, either!

"Our modern society is corrupted by notions like 'freedom' and 'democracy'," he continued, "This idea that we can resolve our differences through petty squabbling is pointless. We need action, and once we free Giratina and Darkrai, we will have the means to do so!"

"What a jerk," Misty said shaking her head.

"I wanna get that guy," said Ash. Misty grabbed his sleeve and shook her head. "But I wasn't gonna—"

"What is Team Rocket doing here?"

They froze in their places. They slowly turned around to see what was behind them. Two sentries were standing behind them, pointing nasty, pointy weapons at them. And they did not look happy.

"Crap," Misty breathed.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried.

"Pi-kaaa… CHUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed his electricity upon the two sentries. They screamed so loudly their echo was almost deafening.

Misty knew this was bad. "Ash, stop!" she said.

"Pikachu!" Ash called.

Pikachu stopped what he was doing. Misty ran over to the rock and saw that the cult members were looking up at them. "Um, Ash?" she said, "I think they know we're here."

"Then we'll get them!" Ash replied, reaching for his Poké Balls.

"But we can't rush in there!" she said.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked.

"Well, it's crazy, but since they knew we're here…"

"What was that?" the head priest asked, "Someone get up there and find out what is going on!"

An explosion ripped through the hall. The Giratinists recoiled until they realized it was only a small explosion. But it kicked up enough smoke to obscure what caused it. Two figures, male and female, stood in the smoke.

"Prepare for trouble!" a female voice declared.

"And make it double!" A male voice replied.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of hate and lies!"

"To extend our protection beyond the skies!"

The smoke cloud dispersed, revealing the two figures wearing Team Rocket uniforms. "Misty!"

"Ash!"

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!" Misty said while posing.

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" Ash replied, also posing.

"Piii, ka-Pika!" Pikachu finished off.

"Misty, what is it?" Ash asked.

"That was… fun!" she replied.

"Team Rocket!?" the head priest declared, "Why are you here?"

"Why do you think?" Misty replied, "To put an end to this!"

"We're the New Team Rocket!" Ash replied.

"I know that!" the priest growled. "Get them!"

The cult members summoned their Pokémon. The excitement of doing the motto died down, and Misty sighed unhappily. "Great," she said. She took out a Poké Ball and threw it out. "Pelipper, go!" she called out.

"Pikachu, jump on Pelipper's back!" Ash said.

"Pi-KA!" Pikachu jumped onto Pelipper's back. The Flying-type Pokémon dove down towards the cult members. Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he gathered the energy he needed and he let loose a power Electric attack on the cult members. The hall glowed with the light from Pikachu's powerful attack as they all screamed in pain.

As this went on, Ash and Misty ran towards the machinery being built. Ash threw his Poké Ball, and Samurott emerged. "Samurott, take care of those machines!" he called.

"Samurott!"

Misty also threw a Poké Ball. "Go, Starmie!" Starmie flew out of its Poké Ball, spinning and flying around. "Starmie, use Rapid Spin!" she called.

Starmie spun and flew around, knocking out enemies left and right. Meanwhile, Samurott ran up to some of the machines and using his swords, slashed them to pieces. He left enough to be used as evidence.

The leader of the cult watched with hands on his head. "NO!" he screamed, "I cannot let this happen!" He threw his cloak off, revealing his uniform for the new Team Girarai. "YOU! Black-haired one!" he called out.

Ash turned around and then pointed to himself. "Me?" he asked.

"I know you!" the leader said, "You are Ash Ketchum! You are my first victim!"

"In your dreams!" Ash replied, reaching for a Poké Ball. But before he could react, the cult leader ran up and grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground.

"Too slow," he said, squeezing Ash's throat. "Sometimes your enemy will be too fast for you to summon your Pokémon." He gave Ash another squeeze. Ash gasped, grabbing the man's hands.

"ASH!" Misty cried. She ran over to the cult leader. She tackled him to knock him off Ash and helped her partner up. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, kinda," he replied.

The cult leader stood back up and glared at the two. He looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it, as it would only be a distraction. Instead, he reached for his Poké Ball belt. "Tyranitar!"

Tyranitar emerged from its Poké Ball as his cult members fell around him. Pikachu and Pelipper whizzed by and so did Starmie. Ash whistled for Samurott. He stopped what he was doing and ran back over to Ash and Misty.

"Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!" the cult leader ordered. Tyranitar opened its mouth. A golden glow appeared in the back of his mouth and before Ash and Misty could react, the Tyranitar fired the Hyper Beam at them. They dove out of the way and the Hyper Beam just barely missed the both of them.

Samurott rushed in, swinging its sword at Tyranitar. Tyranitar caught the sword in its tough grip. Samurott tried to escape from Tyranitar's grip, but it was too hard Tyranitar countered, hitting Samurott in the snout and knocking him on his back.

"SAMUROTT!" Ash called out.

Starmie flew in after smashing another machine. Tyrantiar batted it down easily. "Crush them, Tyranitar," said the cult leader.

It would have been bad if Misty didn't look to see Pelipper and Pikachu still in the air. She grabbed Ash and pointed at the two. Ash realized what was going on and gestured to the two.

Pikachu motioned to Misty and Pelipper got the hint. Pelipper turned and flew towards Tyranitar, staying out of its line of sight. As Tyranitar opened its mouth to prepare to use Hyper Beam, Pelipper dove at the enemy.

"PELIPPER, STEEL WING!" Misty called.

"PIKACHU, IRON TAIL!"

Tyranitar only had a split second to see Pelipper whack it with its wing and Pikachu jump off to smack it with his tail. The cult leader watched in horror as Tyranitar wavered and fell to the ground, unable to battle. Ash and Misty cheered, pumping their fists.

"This is not over!" the cult leader shouted.

"Politoed!" Misty called, throwing Politoed's Poké Ball, "Hypnosis!"

Politoed emerged and immediately used the move. The cult leader struggled to stay away, but Politioed's attack was enough. He fell to the ground and asleep.

The place was a mess. Machinery lay broken everywhere, cult members were lying on the ground, some of them unconscious and unable to get back up, the Giratina statue was smashed (must've been in the melee) and a lot of Pokémon lay fainted on the ground. Ash and Misty had won, but it was definitely going to take a while to clean this mess up.

Still, "WE DID IT!" Ash cheered, jumping in the air and pumping his fist. He turned to Misty and held up his hand for her. She smiled and gave him a high-five.

The police and Special Forces entered the mine just moments later.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

" _Boy, that escalated quickly_ ," James said on the videophone. A jet had stopped by and picked them up to take them back to headquarters.

"Yeah," said Ash, "But we got the job done!"

"And Agent Richards said it was a good job!" said Misty.

" _Well, I guess that helps_ ," said James. "By the way, did you do the motto we gave you?"

"Yeah," said Ash.

" _It was fun, wasn't it?_ "

The two looked at each other and although they wanted to keep quiet, they couldn't help but laugh a little bit and nod their heads.

" _Now you know why it's cool_ ," James said with a knowing look.

"What do you want us to do now?" asked Misty.

" _Return to base_ ," said James, " _And we'll go from there_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how was that?
> 
> It's a little quick, yes, but that sometimes happens. I wouldn't expect Ash and Misty to just be captured so easily if they were caught by bad guys. I still hope this was good for you guys, and I managed to capture some urgency and suspense, among other things.
> 
> So please, let me know how I did!


	7. Decision Time

The New Team Rocket, chapter 7: Decision Time

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

They were disappointed to find out that in a way, they'd failed their mission. They did not capture the guys the Special Forces and Police wanted them to get. But since they were found amongst the arrested, and they'd taken out Team Girarai's equipment and leadership, forcing the cult into a tailspin, they'd succeeded. Plus, taking into account the fact that things got out of hand pretty quickly and they had to improvise on their first mission, no harm, no foul.

That didn't matter to Jessie and James. They were happier with the fact that they succeeded on their first mission.

"Who cares? You did the job, you got the targets, you kicked some ass!" said Jessie, "There were first mission jitters, but that's normal!"

Ash groaned and rubbed the back of his neck while sitting down against the wall of Jessie's office. "Ash, Agent Richards told you to hope for the best, and expect the worst. In our case, weeeee had to expect the worst all the time."

Ash found himself laughing for no reason. In all honesty, it did make him feel better. "Thanks," he said, "I needed that."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Jessie said while nudging Ash on his upper arm.

"Ow," he said quietly.

"Oh, quit your whining."

"Jessie, er—Boss Jessie, what do we need to do now?" asked Misty.

"Just fill out some paperwork and we'll get everything else straightened out," said Jessie.

"Yeah, sure," Misty said, throwing her white uniform shirt over her shoulder while straightening out her black undershirt.

"Come on Misty, that paperwork's not gonna get itself done," said Ash.

"Look at you, Mr. Responsible," she laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Jessie just watched this like a fascinated spectator. That drew Ash and Misty's attention. "What?" asked Misty, "What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing," Jessie sang, Just that you two look cute when you fight, she thought.

"Come on Misty, let's go," said Ash. Misty stood and watched, marveling at how Ash had matured in all those years since they first met. She did not notice Jessie's subtly-fawning expression before she left to take care of the paperwork.

The paperwork itself did not take long to finish. Once they were able to understand what the language was, they breezed right through it. It was mainly reports, like what police officers do after the end of their day and so forth. With that done, they had the rest of the day to themselves.

Ash spent much of it in Clemont's lab. He was not avoiding Misty, he just didn't expect his Kalos friend to follow him here to Team Rocket. "So why'd you join?" he asked, kicking air while sitting on a stack of boxes.

"I told you, I didn't join," said Clemont, "I'm freelancing."

"Okay, why are you… what's the word you used?"

"Freelancing."

"Why are you doing that?"

"Because the gym is being renovated and I needed work," Clemont said, not even taking his eyes off his laptop, "And Team Rocket was looking for some R&D guys. What about you?"

Ash explained that Jessie and James approached him personally and asked him to join. Training camp wasn't easy, but since he's wearing the uniform now, Clemont could easily tell how that worked out.

But there was also the Wailord in the room that needed to be addressed.

"Do you trust them?" Clemont asked.

"Do you?"

Clemont thought and shook his head. "Not really," he said, "I'm not sure if they've really changed or not. Can people like them change?"

"Well, I trust them," said Ash, "I've seen them trying to be good."

"What if it's all an act?" asked Clemont.

"Then I'm leaving at the next opportunity," said Ash, "But I still think they've changed."

"You always were more trusting than everyone," said Clemont, "And I haven't known you as long as that Misty girl."

"Um, okay," said Ash. Clemont shook his head, saying something about how dense his friend was.

"Are you going to tell anyone about this?" he asked.

"No," Ash replied while shaking his head, "It's probably not a good idea."

"Yeah, I'm not going to tell anyone either," said Clemont.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to ruin my reputation by being openly associated with them… I don't want to get in trouble, either."

"Oh," said Ash.

"I see you haven't changed much," Clemont sighed. Ash wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not.

"Clemont, I don't regret this one bit," he said firmly, "Jessie, James and Meowth wanted my help. I'm going to help them."

"Your funeral," said Clemont.

Misty, meanwhile, sat alone in the cafeteria eating her lunch while reading some news about the Team Girarai raid. According to the story, two mysterious individuals identifying themselves as being Team Rocket members attacked the base and left them in the hands of the police. What the story didn't mention was that this was not apparent, it was true. And the police did not divulge that confidential information, instead saying what the Team Girarai members who were willing to talk told them.

Misty laughed, musing that she never expected to read a story about herself as a member of Team Rocket. In a way, it was exciting. She could feel the tingling in her spine when she read about how she kicked butt in the Team Girarai incident (is that what they're gonna call it?).

For some odd reason, it made her feel… proud. Okay, Misty does have bit of an ego. That much is not in question. But the fact that she was proud of the work she'd done with Team Rocket making her smile was the big difference.

Taking pride in working for the group that had tormented her and her friends for years was a big surprise. And it was a good feeling, too.

She was interrupted when a pair of other Rockets walked past her. She heard them say something about her, but she couldn't hear the rest of it.

"… She's outta your league…"

She wasn't sure if he was talking about her trainer abilities or her looks. Either way, as long as they didn't bother her, she didn't care.

"HEY! You two! Get out of here, right now!" Misty turned and saw the two frightened Rockets scurrying away from her. There was only one person she knew of who could have that kind of authority, not just in position, but attitude.

"Boss Jessie!" she said while standing and saluting.

"Oh, put the arm down," said Jessie, "I just wanted to see if you were doing okay."

That wasn't the Jessie she knew. But then again, she knew that already. "Um, forgive me for asking, but what are you doing here?"

"My work is done early," said Jessie, "I need a break." She sat down across from Misty and put her glass of water down. "So. What do you think?"

"About what?"

"About Team Rocket?"

"Uuuhhhhhhhh…" In Misty's defense, her only experience with the organization up till now was antagonistic. Even though she's been with them for a while now, and she knew what Jessie was asking, there wasn't a very good answer she could think of. "I don't know yet."

"Come on!" Jessie whined.

"I just started!" Misty retorted. "Give me some time to settle in!"

"Oh, alright!" Jessie huffed. "But I'm going to make sure you like us by the end."

"You're not going to brainwash me, are you?"

"NO!" Jessie coughed and gathered herself. "No, we're not. If we wanted to brainwash you, we would've kidnapped you."

"Gee, thanks," said Misty.

"And thanks for not trusting me, even though you're still in my organization," said Jessie.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Misty insisted.

"Whatever," said Jessie.

"What do you even want to accomplish?" Misty asked.

"I don't know!"

"You're being honest, right?" Misty asked.

"Of course!" Jessie replied defensively.

Misty examined Jessie's expression and found she was indeed being honest. "It must be hard to be good after being bad for so long," she said.

"DUH! … By the way, how'd it feel to do the motto?"

Misty thought about it. "It was… kinda… fun?"

"NOW you're getting it!"

Ash had a hard time comprehending the recruitment flyer. No, he understood the intention, but it was the rhetoric he had a hard time comprehending. To be fair to Jessie and James, they'd admitted that being good was hard and judging by this, they didn't know that goody-two-shoes were not going to be enticed by promises of stealing Pokemon from bad guys (to be fair to them).

"Do you not like it?" James asked, while twiddling and twitching his fingers.

"Well, it looks cool," said Ash. "But, I'm not sure if we should include the whole thing about stealing."

"We're not stealing anything!" said Misty, "At least not from honest trainers." She turned to Ash, confused by her own words.

"Of course," Jessie said honestly. "What? Did you think we were going to make you steal from honest trainers?"

"Experience," said Misty.

"Trust is earned," said Ash.

"They ARE right, Jessie," said James.

"I know," said Jessie. "And we haven't done enough to discourage that?"

"I don't think so," said James.

"You're not helping," Jessie grumbled.

"You didn't ask for help."

She glared at him. He didn't cower, so much as shrugged. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "We're getting off track," she said, turning to Ash and Misty. "What do you say?"

The two turned to each other and shared a silent conversation. Finally, Misty shrugged. They turned back to Jessie and James and said, in unison, "We'll stick around."

Jessie and James were silently surprised at first, and then they bob started crying. Confused, Ash and Misty reached out to them. Then, Jessie and James lunged forward, hugging the duo. Years of torment weren't going to disappear anytime soon, but Ash and Misty knew, with this gesture, that Jessie and James were not only truly, deeply sorry for everything, but were indeed turning over a new leaf, and that this gesture by the Twerps meant a lot to them.

They returned the gesture, forming a big, four-person group hug. Soon, the Twerps started crying, too. "We won't let you down!" Ash said.

"We'll do our best!" Misty added.

"We won't let you down!" Jessie cried.

"We'll do our best!" James added.

The New Team Rocket had finally blasted off.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

So how was that?

I want to sincerely apologize for how long this took me to finish. I've had a lot going on a/ other projects, life & such. But, it's a relief to finally get this in. I wanted this chapter to be longer, but in the end, I decided that it was better off as long as it is. *shrugs*

Anyway, I hope you like it! Please let me know!

 

**Author's Note:**

> So how was that? It's a little short, but gets the point across. I like the idea of Ash and Misty joining Team Rocket, but I think it's better if TR turns good, which is the main premise behind this (although it was inspired by a Miya Toriaka fanart of the Twerps clad in Rocket unis while Jessie and James fawn over the two).
> 
> Right now, I have a basic plot outline ready to go for the story. I'm still ironing out the kinks, but I think it's a good one! Let me know what you think!


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